Been there. Got undone like that.
The Women in Blue may have been forgiven if they felt like that at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday night, as Ellyse Perry (72 not out, 47b, 7x4, 4x6) and Grace Harris (27 not out, 12b, 4x4, 1x6) destroyed a hapless Indian attack with a superb display of power-hitting for the second time in a row.
A late assault by Richa Ghosh (40 not out, 19b, 4x4, 2x6) towards the end may have worried the Australians a bit, but India needed 20 off the last over and Meghan Schutt gave away only 12. Australia, which had made 188 for three, thus won yet another bilateral series.
The seven–run victory in the fourth T20I has rendered the final match of the series to be played on Tuesday a dead rubber, with Australia taking an unassailable 3-1 lead. In the third match here just three nights ago, Perry had made a 47-ball 75 and Harris an 18-ball 41.
On this night, they were joined in the party by Ashleigh Gardner, who struck a 27-ball 42 from (3x4, 3x6). Her fourth-wicket stand of 94 with Perry could not have come at a better time.
The visitors had lost the two in-form batters – and the current World No. 1 and 2 – Tahlia McGrath and Beth Mooney quickly, and skipper-opener-wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy had hobbled off the field while she was on 30 (21b, 6x4).
After Healy retired hurt, Perry and Harris began to hurt the Indian bowlers badly. They had no answer to the sheer power of Harris and the undoubted class of Perry.
They added 48 off just 20 balls for their unfinished fourth wicket, leaving India a mountain to climb. After the failure of the top three, captain Harmanpreet Kaur (46, 30b, 6x4, 1x6), Devika Vaidya (32, 26b, 3x4) and finally Richa offered hopes to the huge holiday crowd, but the mountain indeed proved too big to climb for the host.
Published - December 18, 2022 02:02 pm IST
