Key events
The weather doesn’t look too clever in Sydney folks, the rain is falling heavily and steadily. It is bucketing down here in deepest Sussex too.
Sunny days, where have you gone?
Rain stops play with India 50-1 and ahead on DLS
Rodrigues flicks Kim Garth for four at the start of the sixth over but the rain is now too heavy and persistent. The umpires lead them off and the radar doesn’t look too clever either.
5th over: India 46-1 (Mandhana 16, Rodrigues 5) Jemimah Rodrigues at first drop for India, she shows her velvet hands with a glance for four off her first ball! A single brings Mandhana on strike. The rain is falling in Sydney with two deliveries needed to make this an official match… Mandhana drives for four with real beauty. That’s her trademark. Molineux completes the over, a wicket off it but also 13 runs. The umpires look twitchy, India are well ahead on the DLS rate.
WICKET! Shafali Verma c Wareham b Molineux 21 (India 33-1)
The new Aussie captain strikes with her first ball! Left arm spin around the wicket and the golden arm strikes, Verma pulls straight to Georgia Wareham on the square leg boundary.
4th over: India 33-0 (Mandhana 8, Verma 21) Time for some unerring accuracy and stump to stump bowling, Nicola Carey is going to have her first bowl in international cricket in almost four years. Beth Mooney is stood up to the stumps and pulls off a sharp take down the leg side.
Oh. SIX! Shafali Verma isn’t going to let her settle and wipes a SIX over midwicket! Carey is struggling a bit here, a leg side wide is followed by a punch through the covers for four. Verma then takes an easy single off the final ball to keep strike. Dangerous times for Australia. Fifteen off Carey’s first over.
3rd over: India 18-0 (Mandhana 7, Verma 9) Darcie Brown with her second and the Aussies just start to build a bit of pressure. Mandhana flays a slower ball just short of third and they scamper a couple. With two wides outside off there are four runs off the over.
2nd over: India 14-0 (Mandhana 5, Verma 9) Shot! Shafali Verma climbs into a Kim Garth length ball and deposits it over cover for SIX! The first six of the match and it is a beauty. Garth responds well, she pulls her length back a smidge and there’s just two singles off the rest of the over.
1st over: India 6-0 (Mandhana 4, Verma 2) Just six runs off the first over as Brown finds her line and length. She beats Mandhana on the outside edge with her final ball. Australia need wickets, that’s their only way out of this.
Here come India for the chase. The blockbuster opening pair of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana will look to make mincemeat of this target. Darcie Brown will open the bowling for Australia. Play!
Australia bowled out for 133 in 18 overs!
Darcie Brown is bowled by Reddy and that is that. Reddy ends up with four wickets and new Aussie captain Sophie Molineux is left unbeaten amongst the wreckage. Penny for her thoughts as the much vaunted batting line up collapses from 87-5 at the halfway stage to 133 all out 8 overs later. Advantage India.
17th over: Australia 130-9 (Molineux 4, Brown 1) The pitch doesn’t have any demons in it, India have bowled tightly and the Australian’s have kept coming, playing their shots and then going.
WICKET! Kim Garth c Renuka Singh b Shree Charani 2 (Australia 130-9)
The implosion continues, Garth plinks an easy catch to Charani on the ‘45. Just Darcie Brown left for the home side now. Four overs and four wickets, India in command in Sydney.
16th over: Australia 128-8 (Molineux 2, Garth 1) Kim Garth at number ten, Australia in danger of not batting out their overs.
WICKET! Annabel Sutherland st Ghosh b Renuka Singh (Australia 127-8)
Lighting hands by Richa Ghosh! Singh beats Sutherland on the outside edge and the batter totters forward, just lifting her heel, Singh sees her chance and whips off the bails! The Aussies in strife here.
15th over: Australia 126-7 (Sutherland 3, Molineux 2) Sophie Molineux arrives in the middle, the new Aussie captain has plenty of work to do to get her side up to a decent score in Sydney.
WICKET! Nicola Carey b Shree Charani 12 (Australia 121-7)
Another one gone! Carey is done by the quicker ball and the stumps are splattered.
14th over: Australia 121-6 (Carey 12, Sutherland 0) Annabel Sutherland is the new batter and she is dropped first ball! Reddy can’t hold onto the return catch, that would have been her fourth wicket. It was very catchable too. Sutherland takes a few deep breaths.
Georgia Wareham c Sharma b Reddy 30 (Australia 121-6)
Georgia Wareham opens the shoulders and bunts Reddy for consecutive fours down the ground. DROP! She’s put down the next ball at short midwicket! How costly will that be?
Well, not all as she hits the very next ball, a full toss, straight to Sharma at cover!
13th over: Australia 111-5 (Wareham 20, Carey 12) Deepti Sharma back into the attack. Four singles before Carey breaks the shackles with a rasping cut for four! This pair looking settled at the crease now.
12th over: Australia 102-5 (Wareham 17, Carey 6) Shot! Wareham finishes the over strong with a rasping cover drive that brings up the Aussie 100. Wareham looks in fine fettle and the partnership grows to 22 off 17 balls.
11th over: Australia 95-5 (Wareham 11, Carey 5) Wareham pulls Shreyanka Patil for four to keep the Aussies ticking.
10th over: Australia 87-5 (Wareham 4, Carey 4) Nicola Carey arrives in the middle on her Aussie recall, she joins Wareham with plenty of work to do, they take the singles and seven off the over. The Aussies bat deep and they’ll need to.
WICKET! Phoebe Litchfield c Ghosh b Reddy 26 (Australian 80-5)
Gone! Australia lose their fifth as Litchfield mistimes a pull and gifts a top edge to Ghosh behind the stumps. Spot of bother here for the Aussies…
9th over: Australia 80-4 (Litchfield 26, Wareham 1) Georgia Wareham promoted ahead of Sutherland in this new look Aussie T20 side, she gets off the mark with a drive down the ground for one.
WICKET! Ashleigh Gardner c Kaur b Sharma 4 (Australia 78-4)
Deepti Sharma summoned by Kaur… what a shit! Litchfield reverse hits for four. More than a whiff of Kevin Pietersen to Scott Styris in that one. Nailed.
Gah! Gardner’s stay is a short one, she chips a length ball straight to Harmanpreet at midwicket. Runs coming but wickets falling.
8th over: Australia 70-3 (Litchfield 20, Gardner 2) Ash Gardner arrives at number five. She punches past point for a couple to get off the mark.
WICKET! Ellyse Perry c Kaur b Reddy 20 (Australia 68-3)
A fine catch from the India skipper sees Perry on her way, a mis-timed loft brings about the veterans downfall with Kaur clinging onto a fine swirling catch in the deep at long off.
7th over: Australia 68-2 (Litchfield 20 Perry 20) Gaud continues around the wicket and she gets some serious tap in this over! Four boundaries off it and 19 runs in all, Perry reverse scoops and Litchfield takes her earlier frustration out with a scoop of her own for four and two clobbered boundaries through the off side!
6th over: Australia 49-2 (Litchfield 7, Perry 15) 23 year old off spinner Shreyanka Patil is called into the attack. Litchfield breaks the shackles by trotting out of her crease and lofting for four. A single brings Perry on strike. Perry shows dancing feet too, clipping over midwicket for four and then launching down the ground over the bowler’s head. 16 runs off the over, Powerplay completed.
5th over: Australia 33-2 (Litchfield 0, Perry 6) A testing over from Renuka Singh, she draws an edge and a play and miss from Litchfield before completing a lesser spotted T20I maiden.
4th over: Australia 33-2 (Litchfield 0, Perry 6) Ellyse Perry is roared to the middle. She clips for two to get off the mark and the unfurls that trademark cover drive that scorches to the fence.
WICKET! Georgia Voll c Ghosh b Gaud 18 (Australia 26-2)
Voll is out! Australia lose two wickets and after looking so good Georgia Voll has to depart, a thin edge to a back of a length ball is swallowed by Ghosh behind the sticks.
3rd over: Australia 22-1 (Voll 14, Litchfield 0) Phoebe Litchfield at first drop for the Aussies, she blocks her first two balls as Renuka Singh completes a successful over.
WICKET! Beth Mooney c Mandhana b Renuka Singh 5 (Australia 22-1)
Mooney is gone! She tries to emulate the lofted drive of her opening partner but plinks it straight to Mandhana at short cover.
2nd over: Australia 20-0 (Mooney 3, Voll 14) 22 year ild right arm quick Kranti Gaud shares the new orb. Voll looks to scoop a wide ball over the keeper but connects with fresh air. Or did she? The Indian players send it upstairs and look momentarily excited… nope, NOT OUT. Ball was a fair way from the bat and a wide is subsequently called by the umpire. Mooney flicks a single to get Voll on strike. Four! A short ball is punished, carved over point to the fence. Fast start for the Aussies and Georgia Voll.
1st over: Australia 10-0 (Mooney 1, Voll 8) There’s some early swing through the air from Singh and a greenish tinge to the wicket too. These factors do not play on the mind of Georgia Voll though, she launches a full ball down the ground for a one bounce four and the follows up with a brutal pull shot that whistles through square for four more! Voll pounced on the over correction from the bowler and looks in fine fettle. Ten off the first over.
Righto, we are going to have some cricket. A large rope is hauled around the outfield as Georgia Voll and Beth Mooney mark their guards. Renuka Singh will start with the ball for India. Let’s play!
The players head out for the anthems but there is still a bit of mizzle lingering in Sydney. Hopefully we’ll be underway shortly.
Teams: Some shocks in store in Molineux’s first match in charge! Vice-captain Tahlia McGrath and veteran quick Megan Schutt are left out of the side. Right arm seamer and left handed batter Nicola Carey is recalled to the side for the first time since 2022, she was impressive for Mumbai Indians in the recent WPL.
Australia: Beth Mooney (wk), Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux (c), Kim Garth, Darcie Brown
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Kranti Gaud, Sree Charani, Renuka Singh Thakur
India win the toss and will bowl first
Good news! The drizzle seems to be abating and the covers are being peeled off. The captain’s go out to toss up. A special moment for Sophie Molineux albeint the coin does not land her way. India insert the hosts on what should be a green-ish wicket with something in it for the bowler’s first up.
Sure enough there is some drizzle around in Sydney and the toss is delayed. The covers are over the wicket but the players are doing some warm ups on the outfield so it can’t be that heavy. Fingers crossed it blows over sharpish.
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to the first T20I between Australia and India from Sydney as a new dawn breaks for Australian’ women’s cricket. Sophie Molineux will captain the side into a new era after Alyssa Healy announced she is calling time on her storied career.
Healy will take the reins for one last time during the ODI and one off Test part of India’s tour but today marks the first match in charge for Molineux. The decision to make th 28 year old left arm spinning all rounder raised a few eyebrows in some quarters, Molineux has an excellent track record in International cricket when she gets on the park but her career has been dogged by injury and she has missed a lot of cricket over the last few years.
“I think it’ll be pretty surreal” The new captain said in the build up to the series starting on what it will be like to step out with the arm band for the first time. “I’ve got a bit of family coming. It sort of has slipped into my mind the last couple of days how it’s going to feel to lead the team out and to sing the anthem.”
India will be the toughest of opponents in this series, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side are the reigning World Champions in ODI cricket and are looking to dominate the women’s game across formats in the way the Aussies have over the last decade.
Plenty to get stuck into then, the toss should be incoming, though my sources tell me there is some rain around in Sydney…
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