END OF OVER:19 | 17 Runs | AUS-W: 133/4 | RR: 7.00
- Ellyse Perry34 (21b)
- Phoebe Litchfield18 (12b)
- Shreyanka Patil4-0-40-1
- Pooja Vastrakar2-0-8-1
10.30pm So, that is all from today. We have ourselves a decider on Tuesday after Australia level things in Navi Mumbai. As for how the game went today, Srinidhi's report will be up soon. On behalf of her, Binoy George and everyone else at Cricinfo, it's Abhimanyu signing off for the night.
10.20pm Time for the presentation ceremony.
Kim Garth is the player of the match. Here's what she has to say: "Absolutely delighted. Not sure I deserve it because Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham bowled really well to tighten the screws. Was good to bowl up top and get the rewards for the team. Bowling in the conditions tonight, it's no secret I like to pitch it up and keep it seam up. Got some movement both off the seam and in the air. I like to keep the stumps in play. Lucky it paid off tonight. It's not always a nice place to bowl in India, it's short boundaries, but I just try to keep developing my game."
Alyssa Healy: "We probably still didn't execute as much as we'd want but we are happy to take the win. Interestingly enough, the statistics say the average sore here is 145-150 so if we kept them below 140 we had a good chance. I pride myself on my reviews. And I've actually seen Kim Garth take a fifer here in the WPL, she loves bowling here. I think we just needed to be more clinical. We just didn't execute well enough the other night and the bowlers did really well today. Hopefully we'll go one better in a couple of days' time."
Harmanpreet Kaur: "I think score wasn't enough on the board but our bowlers did really well. We took it to the 19th over, that was the biggest positive. In the first game, we set the standard. In these games we have to put a good show with the fielding. [On the batting strategy] When we were in the middle, we thought 150 would be a good total but we kept losing wickets and a few overs were bowled really well. But yeah we have to think of what we have to do in the final game if we bat first. [Did Australia ever give a chance for a comeback?] We were getting those opportunities, we were taking wickets and that's a positive. In the 19th over, if Shreyanka was on target, it would have made a huge difference for us. But yeah these are the things we need to do. We have seen these sorts of games a lot of time. But every time team members keep changing. This young group looks really positive and hopefully they will keep improving with experience."
Ellyse Perry: "Lovely to get the win. Just doing my job in the end. Nice comeback for us. India played especially well the other night. We bowled really well today. Phoebe at the end was exceptional. [On bouncing back after the 1st T20I] We had a really good debrief, we were really honest. [On the bowling performance] Kim Garth was sensational up front. The way she bowled and the way we held the run rate back through the 20 overs was really good. I think wickets are crucial in the powerplay. Trying to start on that wicket when you are under pressure to score is tricky. If you can set a good base, score around 150-160, that's probably par here. [On 300 caps] It's definitely a special privilege. It's kind of crept up on me in the last couple of days. It's really made me reminisce. It's miraculously turned into this career, playing around the world."
Sabuj Samanta: "How can India not give the 19th over to Titas? Especially when another spinner got beating in 17th, feels like lost the match there only." They probably thought they could take it to the last over, but it backfired.
10.05pm That's 1-1 in Navi Mumbai! A comprehensive bowling display, followed by an assured performance from the ever-reliant Ellyse Perry with the bat to take Australia home. She finishes unbeaten on 34 off 21, and got good support at the death from Phoebe Litchfield, who continued her rich vein of form with 18 not out off 12 to ensure some late wickets did not alter the outcome of the game. India did well with the ball, putting up a good fight to not let Australia coast to victory, but defending 131 was always going to be tough and they fall short in the end. India's batting, especially while setting a target, remains a concern going forward. We will hear from the captains, and the POTM soon!
Raji: "28 odd runs, 2 catches, 1 run out.. Healy should have given an over to Perry … "
Jims Chacko : "It had to Perry to finish things of!! "
Shreyanka Patil for the penultimate over
END OF OVER:18 | 4 Runs | AUS-W: 116/4 (15 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 6.44, RRR: 7.50)
- Ellyse Perry28 (20b)
- Phoebe Litchfield7 (7b)
- Pooja Vastrakar2-0-8-1
- Deepti Sharma4-0-22-2
Asahel: "This is what India lacks in close games...the ability to keep the scoreboard ticking with singles and the odd boundary...they get too bogged down and put themselves under pressure."
Vastrakar to continue
END OF OVER:17 | 13 Runs | AUS-W: 112/4 (19 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 6.58, RRR: 6.33)
- Phoebe Litchfield6 (4b)
- Ellyse Perry25 (17b)
- Deepti Sharma4-0-22-2
- Pooja Vastrakar1-0-4-1