India clinch Super Over to hand Australia first loss of 2022
Australia 187 for 1 (Mooney 82*, McGrath 70*, Deepti 1-31) tied with India 187 for 5 (Mandhana 79, Shafali 34, Ghosh 26*, Graham 3-22)
India won the Super Over
A full house. A mammoth stand. A Super Over. A streak broken.
A packed crowd at the DY Patil Stadium - the giant screen at the stadium flashed the figure of 45,238 at one point during the first innings, and that number only grew as the match progressed - was treated to a contest for the ages as India handed Australia their first defeat across formats this year, in a match that went into the Super Over.
Chasing 188, and needing five to win off the last ball, Devika Vaidya dug out a wide yorker past a diving point fielder to help India tie the match and take the game into a Super Over.
Then, batting first in the Super Over, Richa Ghosh smashed the first ball from debutant Heather Graham for a six but was caught off the next ball. Smriti Mandhana then hit the last three balls for 4, 6 and 3 to take India to 20.
In response, Alyssa Healy hit Renuka Singh's first ball for four but Renuka removed Ashleigh Garnder with her third ball. Even though Healy struck a four and a six off the last two balls, Australia could manage only 16.
Earlier, what seems like a long time ago, Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath were at it once again, adding 158 for the second wicket to take Australia to 187 for 1. Mandhana's 49-ball 79 took India close before Ghosh's unbeaten 13-ball 26 helped them level. In the end, the hosts gave the crowd the result they would have hoped for.
Healy provides the early impetus
As much as the final total might suggest, Mooney didn't have the best of starts. Her timing was off initially as she managed only 6 off nine balls in the powerplay. Healy, though, made up for her slowness. She cracked a four in the first over, bowled by Renuka, then got two in the second over and two more in the third. Even though she fell for 25 off 15, Healy made sure Australia had just the right kind of start.
M&M knock the wind out of India's sails
Two batters so different in their ways of scoring, yet so effective. McGrath, the enforcer, who loves going at the ball hard; Mooney, the accumulator, who seems to have a map of the field printed in her brain. Coming together at the fall of Healy's wicket with the score 29, they stitched together Australia's highest stand in T20Is.
They ran well between the wickets and collected boundaries at regular intervals, but the highlight was the way they used the crease. Both Mooney and McGrath went across their stumps on multiple occasions and were down the track frequently to not let any of the Indian bowlers settle on one length. They added 98 runs between overs 7 to 16 before thumping 43 in the last four. Mooney reached her 15th T20I half-century and McGrath her fourth, with neither giving India a sniff.
Mandhana goes on an all-out attack
Mandhana started the chase in the fifth gear, slamming Gardner for a four in the first over before thumping Kim Garth for three fours in the second. She got excellent support from Shafali as India plundered 55 runs in the powerplay. The middle overs have been India's pain point in recent times, but Mandhana ensured the equation never got out of hand. India scored 78 runs between overs 7 to 15, with the opener doing the bulk of the scoring. She wasn't done there. India needed her in the Super Over too, and she delivered, again.
Oh my Ghosh!
There are so many things one can achieve at the age of 19. Tonking a fast bowler for a straight six second ball in a high-pressure chase with the required rate in excess of ten only a few can manage. India needed 46 to win off 25 balls when Ghosh walked out to bat. Harmanpreet had just been dismissed for 21, and soon Mandhana departed too. However, the teenager kept her composure. She whacked the experienced Gardner for two more sixes in the 18th over to ease the pressure, ran well in the final over before walking out in the Super Over to start off with another maximum. Age, it's just a number.