indian women clinches their maiden series against aus in T20's

Bowlers shine again; Mithali, Mandhana overhaul target with ease

India women took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series with a 10-wicket win (Duckworth-Lewis method) against Southern Stars in the second match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

The Mithali Raj-led team dominated the proceedings from the word go in the rain curtailed game. Electing to field first after rain delayed the start of play and reduced the game to 18 overs-a-side, Jhulan Goswami rattled Grace Harris' stumps in the first over for a duck. The Southern Stars’ skipper, Meg Lanning then shaped the innings even as the hosts’ lost Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry in the fifth over. While the opener was sent back by the pace spearhead, Perry who had opened her account with a boundary, was run out. 

Lanning then formed a 70-run partnership with Jess Jonassen to rebuild the innings. The top-order bat took the attack to the Indian bowlers as the pair kept the scoreboard moving in an effort to post a competitive. However, while on 49, the captain was run out at the non-striker's end. The wicket triggered a mini collapse as the home team lost four wickets more for the addition of 10 runs to the total. Harmanpreet Kaur accounted for Jonassen while Poonam Yadav sent back Alyssa Healy. Sarah Coyote departed taking the aerial route to Rajeshwari Gayakwad while Rene Farrell was stumped a run later. Reduced to 113 for eight, with 13 balls left, Alex Blackwell set India a 126-run target. 

Raj and Smriti Mandhana then got the visitors off to a flying start. The openers found the boundary with ease as they milked the opposition to take India to 52 until rain interrupted play. When play eventually resumed, India were a set a revised target of 14 runs off 13 balls which they scaled with five balls to spare. The openers hit a boundary each as they collected 12 runs off Coyte and the captain then hit Perry to the ropes in the next over to claim victory. 

  

Brief scores: Australia 125/8 in 17.5 overs (M Lanning 49, J Jonassen 27, J Goswami 2/16, R Gayakwad 2/27) lost to India 69 in 9.1 overs (M Raj 37*, S Mandhana 22*) by 10 wickets D/L method