Australia A beat India A to win the first T20
Sophie Day impressed with the ball for Australia A while Priya Punia shone with the bat for India A Australia A made 163 for 5 (Wilson 50, Mack 39, Ishak 3-33) and beat India A 158 for 6 (Punia 76) by five runs
Tahlia Wilson’s quickfire half-century and strong middle-order finishing proved crucial for Australia A as they won the first T20 of India A’s multiformat tour by five runs despite a brilliant knock from Priya Punia.
Nicole Faltom and Maddy Dark bowled the last two overs
Tahlia Wilson shared a 74-run opening stand with Katie Mack, scoring a 33-ball half-century in the opening exchanges, but the home side fell behind, losing 5 wickets for 42 before Nicole Faltom and Maddy Dark scored 31 runs in the last two overs.
Chasing the target, India A could never quite reach the required rate but Punia and Tanuja Kanwar added 64 for the third wicket and they needed another 64 off 33 balls when Kanwar was smartly stumped by Faltum when she was advancing off a bowling by Maitlan Brown. Despite the best efforts of Punia, who smashed seven fours and three sixes, including two off three balls against Charlie Knott, the requirement was not met and she became one of the three run outs.
Spinner Sophie Day impressive
Left-arm spinner Sophie Day was impressive, giving away 19 runs from her four overs and just three runs from her last over in the 17th. After conceding 28 runs in the 18th and 19th overs, India A needed 16 off the last over, which skipper Tahlia McGrath managed to salvage despite conceding a boundary to Sayali Satghare. Australia A were put in to bat and Wilson ensured a strong powerplay as they reached 49 for no loss after six overs.
Left-arm spinner Saiqa Ishak returned to dismiss Wilson after completing her half-century and then took a hat-trick in the 12th over by dismissing Mack LBW and McGrath caught first ball.
Blockbuster international cricket summer kicks off
The Women’s ‘A’ series against India marks the start of Australia’s blockbuster international cricket summer. Australia A, led by Tahlia McGrath, will play three T20Is and three ODIs. According to a release issued by Cricket Australia, the series will begin on Wednesday at AB Field in Brisbane.
All three T20 matches will start at 1 pm local time. The first match of the series will be played on August 7, followed by the second match on August 9 and the third match on August 11.
The one-off four-day match will begin on August 22 at the Gold Coast District Cricket Club, the release said.
Teams:
Australia A Team: Maitlen Brown, Maddy Dark, Sophie Day, Nicole Faltum (wk), Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Charlie Knott (vc), Katie Mack, Tahlia McGrath (c), Grace Parsons, Courtney Sippel, Tyla Vlaeminck, Tahlia Wilson
India A Team: Minnu Mani (c), Shweta Sahrawat (vc), Priya Punia, Shubha Satish, Tejal Hasabnis, Kiran Navgire, Sajna Sajeevan, Uma Chhetri (wk), Shipra Giri (wk), Raghavi Bisht, Saiqa Ishak, Mannat Kashyap, Tanuja Kanwar, Priya Mishra, Meghna Singh, Sayali Satghare, Shabnam Shakeel (subject to fitness), S Yashashree. Standby: Saima Thakor
Team Captain and Squad Details
Australia A will be led by the talented Tahlia McGrath, who has been a standout performer in the domestic circuit. The squad has a mix of experienced and young players, including Maitlan Brown, Maddy Dark and Sophie Day. McGrath’s leadership will be crucial as they look to dominate the series opener.
On the other hand, India A will be captained by Minnu Mani while Shweta Sehrawat will be her vice-captain. The squad has a number of talented players including Priya Punia and Kiran Navgire, who have the potential to make significant contributions throughout the series. Notably, Shabnam Shakeel’s participation is still in doubt over fitness, which has led to Saima Thakor being included as a standby player.
Conclusion
Three overs later, Knott and Tess Flintoff were dismissed in the space of three balls against Satghare and it looked like Australia A’s innings might be over. The next three overs produced just 16 runs, but Dark and Faltom timed their last advantage just right with three consecutive boundaries at the start of the 20th over.
The teams return to Allan Border Field for the second match on Friday followed by the final T20 on Sunday. This will be followed by three ODIs in Mackay next week and then the tour concludes with a four-day match on the Gold Coast.
