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After the first T20I was washed out due to rain, India women and Australia women locked horns again in another thriller of a low-scoring game. There were no rain interruptions this time and nder the clear skies, Australian captain Meg Lanning won the toss and decided to bowl first. Like the last game, everyone expected Indian batters to put on a good competitive score but due to a batting collapse they managed to put only 118 runs on the board for the loss of 9 wickets.
The target was small but Indian bowlers turned the game around. Before the last few overs, the match was evenly poised between the two teams but all-rounder Tahlia McGrath held her nerves to guide the hosts over the line.
Indian bowlers put up a fight
To defend a small target of 119, Indian bowlers put on a strong fight. On a pitch that assisted the bowlers, Indian bowlers kept it tight. First, Shikha Pandey got rid of opener Alyssa Healy with the inswing of the century contender. India’s left-arm orthodox spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad broke the second-wicket partnership and sent skipper Lanning and opener Beth Mooney back to the pavillion. Later, Gayakwad got another wicket in the form of Nicola Carey. She ended her quota of four overs by picking three wickets and giving only 21 runs.
Other Indian bowlers too didn't allow the Australian batters to settle and finish the run chase early. At one stage, Australia were six down for 94 and it looked like India will manage to pull off a victory out of nowhere. But, in the end, their efforts were cut short by Australian lower middle-order batters, especially McGrath. The all-rounder remained not out for 42 off 33 deliveries taking her team home. Once again, Indian fielding was sloppy and gave Australia enough chances to stay in the game.
Dreadful batting collapse
Invited to bat first, the Indian batting order struggled right from the start of their innings. In-form Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shefali Verma could only add five runs on the board. Mandhana lost her wicket in the first over itself and Shafali joined her back in the dugout in the third over. Jemimah Rodrigues, the star batter of the rain-marred first T20I was expected to get the team out of danger but she fell in the sixth over as Australian kept the run rate in check. India had only 24 runs on the board with their top order sitting in the pavilion.
From here Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur along with Yastika Bhatia tried to do damage control but the partnership was broke after adding 26 runs more on the scoreboard. India lost Harman Preet on a score of 50 and what followed was a collapse of Indian batters. After Harmanpreet got out after scoring 28, India's batting collapsed. Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, and the tailenders couldn't contribute much to the team's tally as India were reduced to 81/9 in the 17th over. Pooja Vastrakar rescued India's first innings with an unbeaten 37 off 26 balls. Vastrakar's valiant cameo included three fours and two sixes. Her innings prevented India from getting bundled out below 100 and post 118/9 on the board.
