Australia 196 for 4 (Gardner 66*, Harris 64*, Vaidya 1-26) beat India 142 all out (Deepti 53, Deol 24, Graham 4-8, Gardner 2-20) by 54 runs
Gardner, Harris onslaught
India started well with the ball, getting both openers out in a powerplay that also saw Renuka Singh bowl a maiden over to Australia’s stand-in captain, Tahlia McGrath. McGrath, however, came back strong and helped Australia kick on, before being stumped off Shafali Verma in the eighth over. Australia were 67 for 4 when the in-form Ellyse Perry fell in the 10th over, holing out to long-on off Devika Vaidya’s leg-spin, India would have kept hopes of restricting them to a chaseable total.
However, like in every match in this series, a big partnership derailed the hosts’ hopes. It was Beth Mooney and McGrath in the first two games, Perry and Harris in the third and then Perry and Gardner in the fourth.
On Tuesday, it was Harris and Gardner, who added 129 runs to Australia’s total off just 62 deliveries.
They started their onslaught in the 13th over, when Gardner hit Anjali Sarvani for four consecutive boundaries. Australia hammered 112 runs in the last eight overs, including the 19 that came off Sarvani’s.
Gardner toyed with the fielders, finding the gaps with regularity, hitting 11 fours and a six. Harris, on the other hand, was less interested in where the fielders were and more in clearing the rope. She hit four sixes and six fours en route to her first T20I half-century.
