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Australia thrashed India in the 1st T20I (Source: BCCI)

After a loss in the first T20I, India Women will square off against Australia Women at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai in the 2nd T20I of the five-match series. This is the last match at this venue before the caravan moves to the Brabourne Stadium for the final three T20Is of the ongoing series.

Who would’ve known that the second-highest score by India against Australia Women in T20Is be an under-par total? As it came to Beth Mooney's masterclass, everything else fell short. The southpaw wasn’t even in her best health condition a day before the game, but everything fell into place as she found her favourite opposition offering her looseners. It won’t be wrong to say that dew in the field and sloppiness from Indian fielders played in favour of the graceful batter in the previous encounter.

Chasing a target of 173 runs, Alyssa Healy (37 of 23 balls) and Beth Mooney (89* of 57 balls) gave a smooth start to the side glueing 73 runs together. Tahlia McGrath stepped up next and built an unbridled century stand with the 28-year-old to gush past the finishing line with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier Shafali Varma and Smriti Mandhana gave brisk start inside the powerplay but the home side kept on losing wickets at regular intervals until the 12th over. Some counter-attacking stuff from Richa Ghosh (36 of 20 balls) and a late cameo from Deepti Sharma (36* of 16 balls) helped the scoreboard reach the numbers 172-6 after 20 overs.

Match Details

Date and Time: December 11, 7:00 PM IST
Venue: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
Live Broadcast/Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar App

Pitch Report: The DY Patil Stadium had something on offer for the pace bowlers in the initial half of both the powerplays. It is a balanced track. Dew did play a factor in the previous game and is likely to affect the upcoming also.  The toss-winning captain should opt to bowl first. The weather is likely to be clear for the most part with temperature in early 30s.

Predicted Playing XI:

India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Devika Vaidya, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Anjali Sarvani, Renuka Singh Thakur, Meghna Singh

Australia Women: Alyssa Healy (c/wk), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt

Prediction

On paper, and on act, Australia Women looks a far poised side than India Women. It won't be a surprise to see if Australia gets a 2-0 lead in the series after the match. But if the coin falls in India's favour and they field first, the ball could land in the court of the hosts, provided one of the batters from the top order gets going.

CRICKET EXCHANGE FANTASY XI

Wicket-Keepers: Alyssa Healy
Batters: Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana
All-Rounder: Deepti Sharma, Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland
Bowlers: Jess Jonassen, Renuka Singh Thakur, Megan Schutt

Captain: Ellyse Perry
Vice-Captain: Beth Mooney

Also Read: Alyssa Healy reflects on Australia's victory in 1st T20I