Half centuries to Elyse Villani and Heather Graham set up an emphatic win for Australia A in the third and final game of the series against India A
Match Report:
ScorecardAustralia A cruise to T20 series sweep
Australia A have completed a series clean sweep against India A with a 22-run win in the final T20 on the Gold Coast.
After being sent in to bat, impressive knocks from Elyse Villani (70 off 56 balls) and Heather Graham (51* off 48) steered the hosts to 3-151 before a strong allround bowling performance restricted India A to 5-129.
There were early signs of danger for Australia A, with Tahlia McGrath (0) and Erin Burns (6) both dismissed by Mansi Joshi inside the first three overs.
With work to do at 2-16, allrounder Graham joined Villani at the crease to put on a 101-run stand that ultimately set up a fifth straight victory for the Australians over India A.
Image Id: E7F29C004EB4420F93B155CBBDCCAA8E Image Caption: Elyse Villani and Heather Graham combined for a 101-run partnership
Villani, pressing her case for an international recall ahead of the T20 World Cup in February, will be buoyed by her performance in the T20 leg of the series.
Monday’s Player of the Match performance in the third and final game featured ten boundaries and follows on from an unbeaten 62 in the first game of the series.
Defending a total of 151, Annabel Sutherland struck first with the ball for Australia A, removing talented 15-year-old India A batter Shafali Verma (0) in the first over of India’s chase.
From that point on, the Australian bowlers were able to restrict the flow of runs, with Nuzhat Parween’s fighting 44 the most meaningful contribution for the visitors.
Molly Strano, another candidate for a recall to the national squad, capped off her outstanding series with yet another fine bowling performance. From her four overs, the off-spinner claimed 1-10 at an impressive economy rate of 2.50, taking her wicket tally to 12 from the six games against India A this month.
Burns, Maitlan Brown and Amanda-Jade Wellington also claimed a wicket each.
The win wraps up an impressive campaign for Australia A, who bounced back from a 16-run loss in the first one-dayer to record convincing wins in the remaining five fixtures.
Australia A v India A
First OD: India A won by 16 runs
Second OD: Australia A won by 81 runs
Third OD: Australia A won by three wickets
First T20: Australia A won by 9 wickets
Second T20: Australia A won by 37 runs
Third T20:Australia A won by 22 runs