Dominant India crush Australia in WT20

The result: India 8-167 (Mandhana 83, Kaur 43; Perry 3-16) defeated Australia 119 (Perry 39*, Gardner 20; Yadav 2-11) in 19.4 overs by 48 runs at Providence Stadium

The match in a tweet: A dominant display with bat and ball from India hands Australia their first defeat of the #WT20 and seals top spot in Group B

The injury: In-form Australia opener and wicketkeeper Healy suffered a mild concussion after colliding with teammate Megan Schutt. Healy was forced from the field after the pair clashed while both attempting to take a high catch off batter Arundhati Reddy during the 19th over of India’s innings. With their vision obscured by the Indian batters, Healy collided with Schutt’s shoulder. She didn’t take her usual place at the top of the order for Australia’s chase, with Elyse Villani opening alongside Mooney in her place, before it was confirmed the 28-year-old had suffered a minor concussion and would take no further part in the match. Australia will be desperately hoping she is fit for Thursday’s semi-final, with Healy in red-hot form through the tournament to date, striking 48, 56no and 53.

The upshot: Australia struggled to contain India’s batters and were set a record chase to maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament and that task became even tougher when Alyssa Healy was ruled out of the match with a mild concussion suffered during the fielding innings. Australia’s chase simply never got going, with regular wickets falling. But with their finals spot already secure, Meg Lanning’s team have a chance to regroup ahead of Thursday’s semi-final in Antigua, where they’ll play either England or West Indies.

The hero: Smriti Mandhana showed why she’s one of the most highly rated young batters in the world with a sublime 83 from 55 balls. The left-handed opener struck three sixes to go with nine boundaries, causing no end of frustration for the Australian bowlers who struggled to find a way to contain the 22-year-old as she posted her highest T20I score. She joined  skipper Harmanpreet Kaur in a 68-run third-wicket stand, Harmanpreet also dishing out some punishment to the Australian bowlers in a 27-ball 43 that featured three big sixes.

The support cast: After an economical start from Anuja Patil, Deepti Sharma struck two massive blows in consecutive balls in the fifth over of Australia’s chase, removing openers Elyse Villani (6) and Beth Mooney (19). Left-arm spinner Radha Yadav (2-13) captured the huge wicket of Lanning for 10, before a double-strike from leg-spinner Poonam Yadav (2-28) removed Ashleigh Gardner (20) and Rachael Haynes (8).

The consolation effort: In a batting innings that never ignited for Australia, 100-gamer Ellyse Perry was the most impressive, top-scoring with a 28-ball 39. With the ball, only debutante Tayla Vlaeminck (0-9) and Perry (3-16) went for fewer than seven runs an over.

The review: Smriti Mandhana seemed content to depart when she was given out lbw on 62 from the bowling of left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux but was called back and convinced to review by partner Veda Krishnamurthy. It was a canny decision, with ball-tracking showing the ball had pitched outside leg. She survived and added another 21 runs to her tally.

The catch: Debutante fast bowler Vlaeminck didn’t pick up a wicket but she did provide one of the highlights of the match, taking a brilliant, one-handed diving catch to dismiss India batter Veda Krishnamurthy. Standing at square leg, Vlaeminck leapt full-length to her right and stretched out her hand to pluck the ball out of thin air. The 20-year-old quick also gave a solid account of herself with the ball, finishing with 0-9 from her two overs.

The milestone: Perry played her 100th T20I, becoming the first Australian female or male to reach the mark. The star allrounder, made her debut against England at the MCG in February 2008, had already passed Alex Blackwell’s record of 95 matches in Malaysia last month and has now played 207 matches across all formats for her country. She picked up three late wickets to celebrate the milestone, finishing with figures of 3-16.

The next stop: Australia and India will both fly back to Antigua, which is hosting the semi-finals and final, on Sunday. But both teams will need to wait for the result of Sunday’s top-of-the-table Group A showdown between West Indies and England to find out their semi-final opponents, with Australia to meet the winner of that match. Both semi-finals will be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on November 22.

Australia XI: Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy (wk), Ashleigh Gardner, Meg Lanning, Elyse Villani, Rachael Haynes, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Molineux, Delissa Kimmince, Megan Schutt, Tayla Vlaeminck

India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Hemalatha Dayalan, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Anuja Patil, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav

2018 ICC Women's World T20  

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

November 9: Australia beat Pakistan by 52 runs

November 11: Australia beat Ireland by nine wickets

November 13: Australia beat New Zealand by 33 runs

November 17: Australia v India, Province Stadium

November 22: Semi-finals, Sir Vivian Richards Ground, Antigua

November 24: Final, Sir Vivian Richards Ground