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India Vs Australia
An entertaining century partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues powered India to a 17-run win over Australia in the third and final Women's T20I here on Saturday, sealing their first bilateral T20I series triumph against the formidable rivals in a decade. Mandhana smashed 82 off 55 balls (8x4, 3x6), while Jemimah Rodrigues struck 59 off 46 deliveries as the two senior batters stitched a commanding 121-run stand to propel India to 176 for six after electing to bat. India's bowlers then seized control as young spinner Shreyanka Patil (3/22) and pace spearhead Renuka Singh (1/29) ripped through the top order to leave Australia reeling at 32 for 3. The early strikes set the tone for a dominant display as India eventually restricted hosts to 159 for 9 to seal a memorable T20I series 2-1, registering their first T20I series win in Australia since 2016. Young left-arm spinner Shree Charani (3/32) underlined her credentials, claiming three crucial wickets to play a pivota
India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said the bold approach of Jemimah Rodrigues helped her find the perfect rhythm after a tepid beginning to the innings, which played a defining role in her side's thrilling 17-run victory over Australia in the third and final T20I here on Saturday. Mandhana played a match-setting 82 and, alongside Jemimah who contributed 59, forged a 121-run partnership that propelled India to 176 for 6 before the bowlers stifled Australia for 159 for 9. "When she came in, I think I was 16-ball 15 (runs) and still getting my timing and she came in, got three or four boundaries, got the momentum going and I could take some time," Mandhana said in the post-match presentation. "Those small things don't really get noticed, but I feel when she (Jemimah) came in and got those quick 2-3 boundaries, it calmed me down as well. So, credit to her for coming in and playing that sort of a knock," said Mandhana about her innings, which helped India win its first T20I series Down
India's World Cup winning star Pratika Rawal along with left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma and seamer Kranti Gaud received their maiden long-format call-ups for the one-off Test against Australia to be held at Perth from March 6 to 9. The 15-member squad will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, and the Test will follow the white ball format matches (3 T20Is, 3 ODIs), beginning from February 15. Pratika's inclusion was a formality after her stirring efforts in the ODIs, 1110 runs from 24 matches at an average of 50.45 with two hundreds and seven fifties. It also meant that the opening batter had sufficiently recovered from her ankle injury that forced her to sit out of last year's women's ODI World Cup semifinal and final. However, the 25-year-old is not a part of India's white ball trip to Australia. Vaishnavi, who made an impression during India's U19 World Cup triumph in early 2025, made her senior team debut in December during the home T20I series against Sri Lanka. The 20-year-old .
Opener Abhishek Sharma has carved out an identity for himself with his aggressive batting and he should stick to his approach, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said on Friday after the visitors lost the second T20I against Australia by four wickets here. The 25-year-old stood out as the lone performer in the top order smashing a 37-ball 68 as the rest crumbled with India being dismissed for a below-par 125 in 18.4 overs. Australia shot down the target in just 13.2 overs. "Abhishek has been doing this for quite some time now. He knows his game and his identity," Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation. "He is not changing it anymore and hopefully he sticks to it and plays many more knocks like this for us." The Indian captain gave credit to Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood (3/13) for his brilliant show with the ball to restrict India to a low score. "The way he (Hazlewood) bowled in the powerplay, if you're four down in the powerplay it's difficult to recover from that. Well ...