Opener Smriti Mandhana's 37-ball 66 went in vain as Australia beat India by 11 runs to win the Tri-Nation Women's T20 Series in Melbourne on Wednesday. Set a target of 156, India were bowled out for 144.
Nicole Bolton struck an unbeaten 100 off 101 balls after Australian spinners bamboozled the Indian batting to set up a crushing eight-wicket win in the opening game of the three-match series, which is part of the ICC Women's Championship.
There was a huge uproar in the Commonwealth Games gold medal match after Australia cricketer Tahlia McGrath was allowed to play the T20 final against India on Sunday despite testing positive for COVID-19.
Australia won their seventh ICC Women's Cricket World Cup with a 71-run victory over England in Christchurch.
Images from the WPL match between Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday
The stage is set for the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League, which will get underway in Mumbai on Saturday.
India will face their biggest challenge so far in the ICC Women's World T20 when they lock horns with a gifted Australian team in an inconsequential game, in Guyana, on Saturday.
Mandhana blasted 9 fours and 3 sixes in her 55-ball innings and shared a 68-run third wicket partnership with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (43 runs off 27) to power India to a competitive 167 for 8 at the Providence Stadium.
The Indian women's cricket team would now go through a trial by fire when it make its day-night Test debut against Australia in the one-off game, starting in Gold Coast on Thursday.
Team India needs to ensure that the frequent middle-order collapses are not repeated in the showpiece event.
Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney struck the highest scores in ICC Women's T20 World Cup final history as record-breaking Australia secured a famous fifth title on home soil, in Melbourne, on Sunday. A record-breaking attendance for a women's cricket match of 86,174 watched on as Australia downed first-time finalists India by 85 runs at the MCG, with the openers setting the tone for a clinical performance.
Captain Meg Lanning's splendid 97 helped Australia outclass India by six wickets to become the first team to qualify for the ICC Women's ODI World Cup, in Auckland, on Saturday.
India will be keen to go one step ahead and claim the title that has eluded them
India's semi-final hopes suffered a major jolt after Australia notched up a comfortable eight-wicket win, riding on a superb show by their top-order batswomen in the ICC Women's World Cup in Bristol on Wednesday.
Meg Lanning's Australia, long the benchmark in women's cricket, will bid for a record-extending fifth T20 World Cup title after a rocky ride to their sixth final. Harmanpreet Kaur-captained India arrive at the MCG undefeated and without having bowled a ball in the rained-out semi-final against England.
Australia made it to the ICC women's T20 World Cup final, coming through a nerve-shredding semi-final against South Africa in Sydney on Thursday. They'll face India at the MCG on March 8 - International Women's Day. India's semi-final against England was abandoned without a ball bowled.
India's leg spinner Poonam Yadav on how she stayed positive during her injury lay-off and return for the women's T20 World Cup.
Riding on Harmanpreet Kaur's fiery knock of 171 off 115 balls, India beat Australia by 26 runs to book a spot in the ICC Women's World Cup final.
In match no. 3 of the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) season, Gujarat Giants fell to their second straight loss as UP Warriorz opened their campaign with a win at the DY Patil Stadium.
Dravid, who is also tipped to take additional charge as the director of NationalCricketAcademy in Bengaluru, had recently suggested that talented young cricketers should get some vocational training, which can help them later in their lives.
With this win, Australia have now gained a 12-2 lead in the series. The team had already secured the Ashes in the first T20I.
