Fifties from Smriti Mandhana (82) and Jemimah Rodrigues (59) helped India post a competitive 176/6 in the final T20I against Australia, despite losing three wickets in the final over. Richa Ghosh played a quick cameo of 18 off 7 balls.
Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues helped India post 176/6 in the third and final match of the ongoing India vs Australia Women’s T20I series at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday. India won the toss and opted to bat first. Mandhana and Shafali opened the innings for the Women in Blue as the Aussie pacer Darcie Brown faced difficulty in finding her rhythm in the opening over, bowling four wides and was smashed for a boundary by Smriti Mandhana with a cover drive.
Partnership Builds After Early Setback
India were off to a decent start as they found themselves at 14/0 in two overs. However, they lost their first wicket in the form of Shafali with India 19/1 in 2.4 overs. Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues made good use of the powerplay and took the team total to 54/1 after the first six overs. In the last over of the power play, Sophie Molineux went for 14 runs.
The duo kept the run rate up after the power play ended with India in a commanding position after 10 overs at a score of 86/1. Mandhana brought up her fifty in 38 balls with a six to Brown in the 12th over. In the 15th over, Jemimah was dropped by Phoebe Litchfield at extra cover, though she made a diving effort. At the end of the 15th over, India were at 127-1.
Mandhana’s Fiery 82
Mandhana’s innings came to an end after she had hit a six on the first ball of the 16th over by Annabel Sutherland. Mandhana scored 82 runs in 55 balls.
The opener looked exceptional throughout the innings, finding boundaries in almost every over. Despite a slow start, she ended her innings with a strike rate of 149.09, which included eight fours and three sixes.
Late Flourish and Final Over Collapse
Richa Ghosh continued the momentum after Mandhana’s dismissal. Jemimah reached her half-century in 41 balls. Ghosh played a quick cameo of 18 runs in seven balls before getting sent back to the pavillion in the 19th over, bowled by Molineux.
In the last over, bowled by Sutherland, India lost three wickets in the form of Jemimah (59), Amanjot Kaur (1) and Deepti Sharma (1) as the team ended the innings with a score of 176/6.
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