On Tuesday, Australia won the third and last Twenty20 match against India by seven wickets, earning a 2-1 win for the series.

Australia successfully chased down the target of 148 runs with eight balls remaining, thanks to Alyssa Healy’s 55 runs off 38 balls and Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 52 runs off 45 balls.

Tahlia McGrath (20 runs off 15 balls) and Phoebe Litchfield (17 runs not out off 13 balls) made clever contributions, while Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham bowled well as India reached a total of 147. Ellyse Perry, who celebrated her 300th game for Australia with a six in the previous match, was dismissed without scoring.

Although Australia’s victory was well-deserved, luck did play a role. The first fortunate moment was winning the coin toss, which Healy did by calling heads instead of her usual tails. In the last 15 women’s games at the Navi Mumbai venue, the team batting second had won 12 times, including both previous matches in the series.

Australia’s luck continued as they reached a comfortable 60 runs without losing any wickets in the seventh over. Healy, who was at 38 runs, hit Pooja Vastrakar’s delivery to point where Jemimah Rodrigues made a spectacular diving catch. This was the much-needed breakthrough for India, and both the team and the crowd rejoiced as Healy removed her helmet and returned to the dressing room.

The umpires requested a TV review to determine the legitimacy of the catch. After almost three minutes of unclear and fuzzy replays, the TV umpire ruled that Healy was not out.

The Indian team appeared exhausted and the 43,523 spectators fell silent. Healy replaced her helmet and, after seven balls, achieved her 16th half-century in her 150th T20I match.

Healy was out soon after, leg before, but another 25 runs had been added in quick time and though Perry also departed next ball Australia were cruising.

Mooney stated that it became slightly tense towards the end, but Tahlia and Phoebe stepped in and performed admirably.

Sutherland, who was the highest-priced player at the WIPL auction for A$364,000, made Delhi Capitals fans happy at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy ground by taking two wickets for 12 runs in her four overs.

In her four overs, Wareham conceded 24 runs and took two wickets, while the rest of the Australian bowlers were surprisingly costly. Despite giving up 36 runs, Megan Schutt found solace in her one wicket, which was achieved with a well-executed slower ball to Shafali Verma. This wicket also elevated her to the position of the top wicket-taker in women’s T20 internationals with a total of 131.

Source: theguardian.com