Ellyse Perry all-round contribution leads Australia to 4 wicket win

Ind vs Aus

Ind vs Aus

Thanks to a brilliant all-round display by Ellyse Perry, the Australian women’s team registered their first win in the 3rd match of the Tri-series played at Manuka Oval, Canberra on Sunday.

Australian stand-in captain Rachael Haynes won the toss and decided to field first. The Indian openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana raced to 15 runs in the 1st over. Ellyse Perry got the breakthrough dismissing Verma for 5. Jemimah Rodrigues struggled with timing and was dismissed trying to play a big stroke off Vlaeminck for just 1 off 11 balls. Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur looked steady with their stroke play. At the end of six overs, Indian women were 35 for 2.

After the power play overs, the experienced duo played some lovely strokes which created some pressure on Australian bowlers. After hitting a six, Smriti Mandhana and was dismissed at the boundary by Jonassen for 35. Kaur and Mandhana added 40 runs for the 3rd wicket.

Ellyse Perry did the damage for Australia by dismissing Kaur, Taniya Bhatia, Deepti Sharma in one over to break the backbone of Indian batting line up. Veda Krishna Murthy also played a poor stroke and was dismissed for 8. Radha Yadav scored 11 off 11 balls. Shikha Pandey remained not out on 8 off 19 balls and helped Indian team to go past 100. Indian women posted a below-par total of 103 for 9 in 20 overs.

Chasing 104 runs to win, it was not an ideal start for the hosts as they lost an early wicket of Alyssa Healy by Shikha Pandey. Ashley Gardner came to the crease and looked in aggressive touch putting the Indian bowlers under pressure. After hitting a boundary, Beth Mooney was dismissed by Deepti Sharma to give Indian team some hope. In the next over, Rajeshwari Gayakwad got the wicket of Gardner. At the end of six overs, Australian women were 31 for 3.

Ellyse Perry looked confident with her stroke play and made sure Australia never panic. The stand-in captain Rachael Haynes fell cheaply trying to hit a big shot off Arundhati Reddy bowling. Despite good bowling and fielding effort by the Indian team, Australia never felt the pressure. Haynes and Perry added 22 runs for the 4th wicket. Jonassen also struggled to score runs but Perry continued her stroke play. Gayakwad dismissed Jonassen for 6. Jonassen and Perry added 30 runs for the 5th wicket.

Before crossing the finish line, Perry was dismissed by Radha Yadav for well made 49. With 5 runs required off last 2 overs, Nicolas Carey struggled to time the ball but hit the winning runs to help Australia win the match by 4 wickets.

Australian women 104 for 6 in 18.5 overs (Ellyse Perry 49, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2/18) beat Indian women 103 for 9 in 20 overs ( Smriti Mandhana 35, Harmanpreet Kaur 28, Ellyse Perry 4/13, Vlaeminck 3/13) by 4 wickets.

For her all-round contribution, Perry was awarded the player of the match. Indian women will take on England women in the next match on 7th February at Junction Oval, Melbourne.