IND-W Vs AUS-W, 1st T20I: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma Post Epic Opening Stand As India Women Hammer Australia - As It Happened

Hello and welcome to the India Women vs Australia Women, 1st T20I, Live Blog. The One-off Test match went in India's favour whereas the ODIs were dominated by the Aussies. Harmanpreet Kaur invited Australian women to bat first after winning the toss. Renuka Thakur Singh and Titas Sadhu destroyed the Aussie top-order and took four wickets early. But young talent Phoebe Litchfield and Ellyse Perry added 79 runs for the fifth wicket to post a respectable total of 141 runs on the board. Player of the match Titas Sadhu took four wickets in the match. Indian openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana toyed with Australian bowlers and with a 137-run opening stand, turned the match in India's favour. With a 9-wicket win in the first match, India take lead of 1-0 in the three-game T20I series. Catch IND-W vs AUS-W cricket scores and highlights (Scorecard | Match Report | Preview)

That's all from our side!

Titas Sadhu | Player Of The Match: Since I won three prizes today (chuckles), it has become a tradition for whoever wins this honour to have a party. I have three assignments due. It's been a long series for me since I've sat out the Test and ODI series. Today I am delighted to capitalise. I was fortunate to get two wickets in the second over on a decent track. The dew played an important role here.

Alyssa Healy | Australia Captain: We didn't play very well; we left a lot on the pitch with the bat and didn't get off to a good start with the ball. We lost a few wickets throughout the game and were unable to gain any momentum as a result. We want to keep putting the large totals out there while also reacting to the environment. They reached perfect lengths early on and made it difficult for us. We'll have to react and tweak a few methods as a result.

Harmanpreet Kaur | India Captain: We performed admirably in all three departments. We are putting forth a lot of effort in the fielding department. Today, everyone is having a good time fielding, which makes me extremely pleased. Our fielding coach deserves credit; he chose Jemi to slot at backward point, and everyone understood their fielding strategy, and we achieved the results we desired. I just told my bowlers to keep working hard and keeping it tight. We were ready to select a third spinner, but at the last minute, we chose to go with the extra seamer, and we supported her (Titas Sadhu) and got the results. Our bowling squad bowled superbly tonight, and we want to replicate that performance in the upcoming game.

Brief Score: IND-W - 145/1 (17.4)
Shafali Verma - 64 (44),  Smriti Mandhana - 54 (52)  |  Georgia Wareham: (3.4-0-20-1)

9:56 PM: IND-W Win By 9 Wickets!
Jemimah Rodrigues hit the winning runs to register a big win against Australia women in the opening match of the T20I series. India take the lead of 1-0 in the series.

9:50 PM: Mandhana Falls!
Smriti Mandhana holed out to Georgia Wareham as Tahlia McGrath took a screamer to dismiss her. Jemimah Rodrigues replaced her at the crease. India need only 5 runs now.

IND-W - 138/1 (16)

9:45 PM: Mandhana Completes Fifty!
Smriti Mandhana completed her run-a-ball half-century in the 15th over. Shafali continued to target the Aussie bowlers.

IND-W - 133/0 (15) 

9:33 PM: 100-Run Partnership Completes!
Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana completed their 100-run stand for the first wicket in the 12th over. Verma started McGrath's over with a 69-metre six and then hit a four. She then gave 5 runs byes. After that, Verma completed her 8th T20I half-century. 24 runs from her over. 

IND-W - 115/0 (12)

9:24 PM: Nine runs off Schutt's Over!
Megan Schutt was also unable to provide Australia with the needed breakthrough. Both set batters hit one-four each in her over to concede nine runs from that.

IND-W - 86/0 (10)

9:16 PM: Seven Runs Off McGrath's Over!
Tahlia McGrath was introduced in the eighth over of the innings and she conceded only seven runs. Shafali Verma smashed a boundary on the second last delivery to add 7 runs.

IND-W - 70/0 (8)

9:06 PM: India Completes Fifty!
Mandhana smashed a four on the very first delivery of the sixth over to complete the score of 50 runs for India. Shafali smashed a six in the same over to make it big. 

IND-W - 59/0 (6)

9:00 PM: Shafali Smashes Two Boundaries!
Shafali Verma smashed two boundaries off Megan Schutt's over to add 10 runs from that over as well. Indian openers are adding runs at the run rate of 10. Before that, Mandhana hit a six off Sutherland's over to make sure that 10 runs came from her over.

IND -W - 39/0 (4) 

8:51 PM: India Start Batting
Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma opened the Indian attack and Darcie Brown came to bowl the first over from Australia. Two leg byes four and one no-ball byes four runs ruined her first over as she conceded 14 runs off the over.

IND-W - 14/0 (1)

8:50 PM: India vs Pakistan Fixture Confirmed For T20 World Cup 2024
The highly anticipated encounter between India and Pakistan will take place on June 9 at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in New York. The two teams have previously met at the tournament seven times: twice in 2007, including the Final, in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021, and 2022. Only in 2009 and 2010 did they not compete in the prestigious Men's T20 event.

8:50 PM: ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Fixtures Revealed
The schedule for the ninth edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup has been released, with the event being co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States from June 1 to 29, 2024. The 20 teams have been divided into four groups of five, with the top two teams progressing to the Super Eights:

Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and the USA

Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland and Oman

Group C: New Zealand, the West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea

Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Nepal

Innings Break!

Brief Score: AUS-W - 141/10 (19.2)
Phoebe Litchfield - 49 (32),  Ellyse Perry - 37 (30)  |  Titas Sadhu: (4-0-17-4)

8:36 PM: AUS-W - 141/10 (19.2 Overs)
Shreyanka Patil struck the last nail in the coffin as Australia women bundled out for 141 runs in DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. India women now need 142 runs to win the inaugural match of the series. Titas Sadhu took four wickets in the match.

8:28 PM: Deepti Gets Perry!
Deepti Sharma finally removed Ellyse Perry and controlled the Australian scorecard that kept increasing when Perry and Litchfield were at the crease. Titas Sadhu also completed her spell with four wickets.

AUS-W - 139/8 (18.1)

8:20 PM: Deepti Sharma Concedes 6 Runs!
Deepti Sharma delivered a good over and gave just six runs out of it. Six singles on six deliveries in death overs that too when Ellyse Perry was at the crease.

AUS-W - 126/6 (17)

8:10 PM: Kaur Gets Litchfield!
Amanjot Kaur removed set batter, Phoebe Litchfield as she approached her half-century. Litchfield played the ball directly to the hands of the Indian skipper as she took the third catch of the match. Litchfield went for 49 runs off 32 balls.

AUS-W - 119/5 (15)

8:05 PM: Phoebe Litchfield Smashes Two Sixes!
Amanjot Kaur came to bowl in the 13th over and 20-year-old Phoebe Litchfield smashed two sixes off her over to take the score past 100-run. Deepti bowled an economical over after that.

AUS-W - 109/4 (14)

7:57 PM: Deepti Concedes 12 Runs!
Deepti Sharma was introduced into the attack in the 12th over and she conceded 12 runs from her first over as Phoebe Litchfield and Ellyse Perry hit one boundary each in her over.

AUS-W - 92/ 4 (12)

7:48 PM: Vastrakar Leaks Runs!
Pooja Vastrakar continued to prove costly for the Indian bowling lineup. After giving nine runs off her first over, she bowled the 10th over and conceded 19 runs in the over to allow the struggling Australia to settle.

AUS-W - 71/4 (10)

7:40 PM: Renuka Finishes Spell
Renuka Thakur Singh finished her full spell with a straight four-over spell and her bowling figures were 4-0-24-1. Titas Sadhu continued to attack from the other side and she completed her three overs as well. 

AUS-W - 47/4 (8)

7:32 PM: Titas Sadhu Strikes Again!
Titas Sadhu removed two Aussie batters, Ashleigh Gardener and Tahlia McGrath in the same over. Sadu is having a dream spell in the DY Patil Stadium as Australian women are four down and Indian women are dominating them at the moment.

AUS-W - 33/4 (6)

7:28 PM: Renuka Removes Healy!
Renuka Thakur Singh came to bowl her third over of the spell and got the wicket of Australian captain Alyssa Healy. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur took a comfortable catch again.

AUS-W - 32/2 (5)

7:18 PM: Sadhu Gets Mooney!
Titas Sadhu provided the first breakthrough for Indian women and removed dangerous batter Beth Mooney in her first over. Sadhu struck hard after a review went opposite in their favour. Kaur took a comfortable catch to dismiss her.

AUS-W - 28/1 (4)

7:02 PM: Australia Women Start Batting
Australian captain Alyssa Healy and star batter Beth Mooney opened the batting attack and Indian pacer Renuka Thakur Singh opened the bowling attack. Including two wides from the over, Renuka conceded 6 runs from the first over.

AUS-W - 6/0 (1)

6:35 PM: Toss Update

India Women have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

India Women (Playing XI): Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh(w), Amanjot Kaur, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Thakur Singh, Titas Sadhu

Australia Women (Playing XI): Alyssa Healy(w/c), Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Grace Harris, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown

6:35 PM: What Captains Said

Alyssa Healy | Australia Captain: We're not too concerned, and we're also likely to bowl first. We have a good hitting lineup. Everyone in the crew has a lot of experience, so they all know what they're doing.

Harmanpreet Kaur | India Captain: We'll start with bowling. We're going in with four seamers and two spinners, and we want to take advantage of this opportunity to bowl first. This is an excellent chance for us to experiment.

6:00 PM: Pitch Report

Square boundaries are 56m and 63m. The straight boundary is 70m. Anjum Chopra believes that because the temperature has dropped in Mumbai, there may be some dew later.

5:49 PM: Squads

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Pooja Vastrakar, Kanika Ahuja, Minnu Mani.  

Australia: Darcie Brown, Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy (c&wk), Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (vc), Beth Mooney (wk), Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham.