Australia overcame early jitters thanks to Ellyse Perry’s 47-ball 75 to post 172 for eight in the third T20I against India at the Brabourne Stadium here on Wednesday. Put in to bat, Australia got off to a poor start, losing the wickets of captain Alice Healy and Tahlia McGrath in the first and second overs respectively. Renuka Thakur had opener Healy lbw while Anjali Sarwani had Tahlia wicket, both dismissed for one run.
Australia’s score was two wickets for five runs in the second over. But Parry and then Grace Harris (41 off 18 balls) played a key role in taking Australia to a competitive score. Australia had scored 79 runs for three wickets in 10 overs and then in the last 10 overs the team added 93 runs to the score. Renuka Singh, Anjali Saravani, Devika Vaidya and Deepti Sharma took two wickets each for India. Openers Beth Mooney (30 runs) and Parry (75 off 47 balls) anchored the Australian innings with a 64-run partnership in seven overs for the third wicket.
Parry shared a 55-run partnership with Harris for the fifth wicket to take Australia to a good score. The Indian bowlers got wickets at regular intervals but also went for runs on the Brabourne Stadium pitch. Australia were 43 for two in the powerplay, but Mooney and Perry scored quick runs to take the team to 68 for two at the end of the eighth over.
Vaidya then dismissed Mooney in the ninth over to give India a wicket. Parry, who hit Deepti Sharma for a six, was trying to add quick runs and in the 11th over, she also hit a long six over Vaidya’s head. But two balls later, Vaidya got his revenge but in the form of Ashley Gardner (07), who was brilliantly caught by Richa Ghosh. India, however, gave away 14 runs in the 14th over in which Parry and Harris hit sixes.
