India women’s team kicked off their campaign on a mesmerising note as they stunned the defending champions in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup opener of the Group A match at Sydney Showground Stadium in Sydney. Harmanpreet Kaur-led team came out on top much to Australia’s annoyance as they won the match by 17 runs.
Batting first, India women lacked the killer instinct to score runs and they ended up posting 132/4 in their allotted quota of 20 overs. Deepti Sharma was the best batswoman for India as she topped the run-charts with 49 runs on the back of three fours while Shafali Verma was the second-best batswoman for the team as she scored 29 at the top with the help of five fours and a six.
Australia women easily kept the Indian women batsman in check as they restricted them to a decent total. Australia’s Jess Jonassen was the pick of the bowlers as she bagged 2/24 in her four-over bowling spell. Ellyse Perry and Delissa Kimmince picked one wicket apiece.
Poonam Yadav dismantles Australian batting lineup:
In reply, Australia women failed to build momentum in the run-chase and thanks to Indian bowling brigade for mounting pressure on Australia from the word go. As Australia couldn’t handle pressure, wickets fell like a pack of cards and as a result, they were bundled out for 115 runs in 19.5 overs.
Despite setting up a modest target, India bowled incredibly well to get a positive result. Poonam Yadav brought the best out of herself on the match day as she accounted for four dismissals, registering 4/19 in her four-over bowling spell and rightly so, she was named the Player of the Match.
“Great feeling to win the first game. Knew this track is something where we can do well. Knew if we’re able to score 140, our bowlers will be able to defend it, and that’s what happened. This track wasn’t easy to bat on. Were just looking to score 140. The partnership between Jemi and Deepti got us there,” skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said at the post-match presentation.
Poonam was going through some injuries but has made a great comeback. That’s what we were expecting. Our team is looking nice. Earlier we were depending on 2-3 players but now we’re doing well as a team,” she concluded.
Read More: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup: India Thump Defending Champions Australia in Sydney
India will now take on Bangladesh on February 24.