IND W VS AUS W 1ST T20I

That's it then from this game and it is Australia Women who have the early lead in the five-match series. India Women will be desperate to level the series as a 2-0 deficit will be very difficult for them to overcome. The next game will be played at the very same venue on Sunday, the 11th of December and will begin at 7 pm IST (1.30 pm GMT). But, you can join us early for the build-up as always. Cheers!

Alyssa Healy, the captain of Australia Women says that captaincy was not easy for her especially when India were going hard with the bat. She feels that India were a little bit below par with the bat and adds that they knew that if they batted well and start off well, they can capitalize at the backend. Hopes to tighten up in the bowling and fielding department but adds that overall they played very good cricket on the day.

Beth Mooney (89* off 57 balls) is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for her match-winning knock. Mooney says that she loves putting the Australian shirt on and is lucky to have been able to play well against India. Adds that they knew beforehand that the wicket here would be good for batting and they were excited to play on wickets that had good bounce and fast outfields.

The India Women skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur says the score they put on was a decent one. Tells that they were in the game till the 13th over but they were poor in the fielding department and they created chances but could not hold onto them. She then talks about the poor fielding and says that these things happen in cricket and adds that Radha Yadav is their best fielder but if they wanted to restrict a strong team like the Aussies they needed to take their chances. Mentions that the dew definitely played a part and sometimes it becomes difficult to judge the ball.

The presentation ceremony...

Tahlia McGrath says that it is nice to start off the series with a win. Tells that they have not played together as a team for a long time since the Commonwealth Games and they are happy to get going. Adds that they try to push each other in the training and try to work hard as possible and get better which drives them as a team. Mentions that India batted well, especially at the backend but they saw that there was value for shots and they just needed to build a strong partnership and then take it from there. On being asked about her bowling, she says that they are pretty spoiled for choices with bowlers but she is ready to go and she will be ready when Alyssa Healy needs her.

Earlier in the game, Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to bowl first in what was her first T20I game as full captain of the side. This decision didn't go that well as the Indian openers were able to make good use of the Powerplay. The visitors came roaring back by picking up quick wickets and that slowed down the Indian innings. Harmanpreet Kaur and Devika Vaidya held the innings together after which it was Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma who played fiery cameos to propel India Women to 172 runs. Kim Garth on debut bowled well and so did Ellyse Perry but their spinners weren't able to control the game. In reply, Australia Women lost just the solo wicket as Beth Mooney played a wonderful knock to take them over the line without any fuss. Let's now join Tahlia McGrath for a quick chat...

India Women will be disappointed with that effort, both with the ball and especially in the field. They dropped a couple of chances early on which proved to be extremely costly and the ground fielding was way below par. With more than a decent score on the board, the Indian pacers started off reasonably well but once the charge came from the opposition batters, they hardly had any answers. The debutant, Anjali Sarvani proved to be the most economical bowler whereas the likes of Devika Vaidya and Meghna Singh received a lot of stick. They will now look to improve upon this effort and get back on level terms.

Chasing a pretty big target of 173 runs, the Australian innings got off to a bit of a sedate start but soon enough, the experienced pair of Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney at the top was able to put the bad balls away and put on 73 runs for the first wicket. After the stand broke, there was a quiet spell as Tahlia McGrath took a bit of time to find her feet. Mooney though just went into overdrive as she toyed with the field and kept on finding the fence. The southpaw ended the game unbeaten on 89 runs and it was her knock really that made a difference. Mooney and McGrath put on exactly 100 runs to seal the win with McGrath scoring freely towards the end as well.

A pretty straightforward victory in the end for Australia Women and they extend their unbeaten streak to 16 matches in this format of the game. The visitors take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series and lay down the marker for the rest of the tour.

Here it is! Australia Women win this game comfortably by 9 wickets! Deepti Sharma bowls a quicker and flatter delivery on middle and leg. Tahlia McGrath nudges it to deep backward square leg and comes back for the second run with ease. Once again, Australia Women have shown why there are the best team in the world!

Shortish and outside off. Tahlia McGrath tries to cut it again. However, she gets a thick outside edge that rolls towards left of short third man and a single is taken. Two needed for Australia Women to win this game!

A slower delivery again. This time it fuller and on middle. Beth Mooney shimmies down the track and knocks it to long off for a single.

Short and outside off. Tahlia McGrath cuts it to sweeper cover for a single.

Short and way outside off. It is a slower delivery and Tahlia McGrath gets away across to her right to pull it but mistimes it to backward square leg.

A fuller delivery angling into leg. Beth Mooney tries to clip it but misses. The ball hits her pads and rolls towards the leg side. A leg bye is taken.

Shortish delivery and outside off. Tahlia McGrath cuts it to point for a single.