Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh's late power hitting proved not enough as Australia rode on Ellyse Perry's masterclass half-century to secure a series-clinching seven-run win in the fourth women's T20I on Saturday. Continuing her dream comeback, Perry smashed a blistering 72 not out from 42 deliveries (7x4, 4x6) to power Australia to 188 for 3 after being invited to bat. The visiting side's captain Alyssa Healy retired hurt after scoring 30 due to a calf injury.
In reply, India managed 181 for 5 in their 20 overs as Harmanpreet's 30-ball 46 and Richa's 19-ball 40 not out went in vain. World champions Australia thus clinched the five-match series as they have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead going into the final T20I here on Tuesday. India were down 49 for 3 inside seven overs and they needed 105 from 54 balls when Harmanpreet stepped it up against Megan Schutt.
The Indian skipper then punished Heather Graham, smashing her four boundaries from five balls in the 13th over that yielded 17 runs to revive the chase. But Harmanpreet fell four runs shy of her half century as India still needed 68 runs from 34 deliveries when Richa took over.
Needing 38 runs from the last two overs, Richa smashed Heather Graham for two successive sixes and followed it up with a boundary. Defending 20 runs from the last over, the experience of Megan Schutt came handy as she bowled intelligently to concede just 12 runs. Richa managed just two strikes in the final over with Schutt brilliantly bowling to her field.
Ellyse Perry's blistering knock of 72 of 42 balls helped the Australia women's team set a massive target of 189 in 20 overs in the fourth T20I match against India at Brabourne Stadium. Put into bat, the Australian women's team got off to a brisk but Deepti Sharma gave India the first breakthrough dismissing Beth Mooney for 2 as the visitors lost their first wicket for 24. Captain Alyssa Healy was batting strongly at 30, which came off 21 balls, but had to leave the field after being retired hurt.
Radha Yadav struck and gave India a second breakthrough dismissing Tahlia McGrath for 9 as Australia lost the second wicket for 46. Ashleigh Gardner and Ellyse Perry struck a partnership to take Australia's total beyond the 50-run mark in seven overs.
The Gardner-Perry duo notched up a 50-run partnership in just 34 balls and also took the team's total beyond the triple-figure mark in the 13th over. Ellyse Perry went on to score her half-century of 32 balls. India desperately needed a wicket and Deepti Sharma struck for the second time getting the prized scalp of Ashleigh Gardner who had made 42 of 27 balls. Australia lost their third wicket at 140.
Close finish in the fourth #INDvAUS T20I but it was Australia who won the match! #TeamIndia will look to bounce back in the fifth & final T20I of the series on Tuesday
Scorecard https://t.co/kG4AnI9x7J pic.twitter.com/i3wgeyRxB2
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 17, 2022
The World Champions went past the 150-run mark in 17.2 overs with Perry and Grace Harris batting impressively.Perry remained unbeaten on 72 of 42 balls while Harris remained not out on 27 of 12 balls to guide the team to a massive 188/3 in 20 overs.
Brief scores: Australia Women: 188/3 in 20 overs (Ellyse Perry 72*, Ashleigh Gardner 42; Deepti Sharma 2/35) vs India Women.
