Beth Mooney has demonstrated as soon as once more why she’s the perfect T20I batter in girls’s cricket, elegantly guiding Australia to a nine-wicket overcome India within the first of their five-match worldwide sequence.
The left-hander stroked her approach to an unbeaten 89, and with some substantial assist from each new captain Alyssa Healy and allrounder Tahlia McGrath on Friday, made a doubtlessly tough goal in Mumbai look a chunk of cake because the world champions maintained their proud unbeaten report in all codecs in 2022.
India, the closest white-ball challengers to the all-conquering Australians, should have felt they had been a serious likelihood of turning into the primary crew to beat Healy’s aspect this 12 months after they racked up 5-172, with wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh (36 off 20) and Deepti Sharma (36no off 15) offering key late impetus.
But opener Healy, after being handed her captaincy debut, made a brisk 37 off 23 balls in reply earlier than an inexpensive dismissal off a full toss after which watched Mooney, presently the top-ranked batter in T20Is, take management on the D.Y. Patil Stadium by transferring into essentially the most beguiling of prime gears.
Ensuring the required run charge by no means acquired out of hand, the 28-year-old Victorian did not have to resort to slogging, simply terrific placement and timing, as she moved to her unbeaten 89 off simply 57 balls with 16 boundaries, whereas being well-supported by McGrath, whose 40no got here off 29 balls.
The pair placed on an unbroken 100-run stand for the second wicket off 56 balls because the Australians eased to 1-173 with 11 balls remaining, successful their twenty first match in all in 2022 throughout T20Is, ODIs and Tests.
“I love pulling the Australian shirt on,” stated Mooney, who reckoned she’d loved “playing a couple of nice shots to get the team over the line” on a flat monitor and making the most of a quick outfield.
It might, nonetheless, have been a really totally different story if she hadn’t been dropped when on simply 4, Radha Yadav spilling a regulation likelihood at backward level off Renuka Singh which typified India’s poor day within the subject.
Australia had earlier used seven bowlers, with Ellyse Perry, in her first T20I for greater than a 12 months, taking 2-10 in her early spell.
Debutant Kim Garth, the previous Ireland allrounder, marked her historic day as the primary girl to play T20Is for 2 totally different international locations by taking the wicket of Harmanpreet Kaur.
Healy, who’s been elevated to the captaincy whereas Meg Lanning continues her indefinite break from the sport, was delighted to start with an enormous win, however recognised room for enchancment, particularly after the best way the crew had leaked runs on the dying in India’s innings.
“Let me tell you, it wasn’t that easy when we were on the field,” stated Healy, when requested about her first style of captaincy.
“But it was nice to get a end result.
“I believed they had been under par with 172. As per stats, 185 is a par rating right here. We did not end nice with the ball however we knew we had been within the sport and if we batted effectively, we may recover from the road.
“Probably, we’ll look to tidy up the death bowling because we didn’t finish well with the ball and some other areas in the field.”
