Beth Mooney led the Australian women’s team to a nine-wicket victory over the Indian women in the first Twenty20 international

The opening batter for the Australian women’s team, Beth Mooney, scored 89 runs off of 57 balls to help lead the side to a convincing nine-wicket victory over India in the first Twenty20 International match that took place on Friday. The match was held in this location.

During her time in the middle, Mooney hammered 16 fours, and Tahlia McGrath contributed an unbeaten 29-ball 40 that included four boundaries and two sixes. This helped Mooney’s team win. As a result, Australia now holds a lead of 1-0 in the best-of-five series.

Prior to that, the seasoned Deepti Sharma blasted her way to an undefeated 36 off of just 15 balls, which helped India reach 172 for five.

After Richa Ghosh (36 off 20 balls) and the returning Devika Vaidya (25 off 24) added 56 runs for the fifth wicket, Sharma smashed four consecutive boundaries in the final over, bowled by Megan Schutt, to boost India’s run rate. This came after Ghosh and Vaidya had added 56 runs for the fifth wicket.

When Australian was trying to reach a difficult mark, the powerful opening pair of Alyssa Healy, who served as the team’s captain, and Mooney provided the team with the necessary start by contributing 73 runs in just under nine overs.

During their brilliant partnership, Healy and Mooney played some great shots, which placed pressure on the Indian bowlers.

To make matters even worse, a catch that could have been made by Radha Yadav at backward point off of Renuka Singh was dropped, which allowed Mooney to continue batting when the batter was on 4. Mooney then smashed Renuka for three consecutive fours, despite the fact that her skipper had just hit the first six of the Australian innings. Renuka bowls medium pace and Mooney is her captain.

Even without taking into account the missed catch, India’s fielding performance was below par.

The first breakthrough came about as a result of Vaidya’s performance in her first Twenty20 International (T20I) since making her debut in 2014. She had Healy caught by Harmanpreet.

Mooney found an able ally in Tahlia McGrath, which allowed Australia’s momentum to continue unabated despite the loss of the skipper, who was dismissed for 37 after facing 23 balls. After Mooney grabbed 18 runs in the 15th over, India’s chances of winning were extremely slim. The equation went from 55 runs off 36 balls to only 37 runs in the remaining five overs after Mooney’s contribution.

Earlier on, Sharma had a scorching knock, hitting eight boundaries, while Ghosh found the fence five times and cleared it twice throughout her innings.

In the opening over, which resulted in 12 runs for India, the adolescent Shafali Verma smashed Megan Schutt for a four and a six over long-on. This helped India get off to a strong start.

After the veteran Smriti Mandhana scored 28 runs off of 22 balls, she hit the rookie Kim Garth for a four. Then, Shafali slashed Ellyse Perry on the off-side for her second maximum, and a ball that had an inside edge and went through the keeper’s hands for a boundary.

However, Perry got her payback when she crowded Shafali for room on the leg side, and Shafali ended up throwing a catch to Perry, who was the skipper of the sandlot team. The Indian power-hitter, who is only 18 years old, had been disqualified by Perry for the fourth time.

Mandhana, who has a strong track record against the Australian, displayed her brilliance when she scored four boundaries off of Garth. The onslaught of fours propelled India to 45 for one in a mere four overs, which was a significant milestone.

The 17 runs scored in the fourth over were followed by the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues, who was out after giving in to the pressure that Perry had been applying after four dot balls. The batter’s mistimed pull was caught by Annabel Sutherland.

At the end of the six powerplay overs at the DY Patil Stadium, India was still at 48 for two when Schutt was summoned back after a wicket maiden by Perry. She only gave up three runs, which allowed them to maintain their score.

Harmanpreet Kaur (21 off 23) scored her maiden boundary after driving Ashleigh Gardner’s off-spin bowling through the covers after Healy had introduced her to the bowling delivery.

Another change in bowling was made by Healy, and this time it was successful. Sutherland bowled to the well-set Mandhana, who was caught by Mooney at point in a relatively easy dismissal.

After a couple of quiet overs, Harmanpreet pulled Sutherland for a boundary, which was very much appreciated.

However, Garth was successful in claiming the prized scalp of Harmanpreet, which was her first for Australia after having represented Ireland for ten years. This happened after the Indian skipper played away from her body and sent the ball straight to the fielder at cover.