The series is decided but it’s not over. The final T20I will be played tomorrow as India look to end the tour on a high. It’s been a terrific series across the formats and hopefully we get one good final match, even if it’s a dead rubber. Join us for the live updates from that on Sunday.
The Player of the Match is Tahlia McGrath for her 42 not out off 33 that took Australia home. She was cool under pressure in what her first T20I innings. Deserving victory for a player who has shined through the series.
Some reactions to the thriller
AUSTRALIA WIN!
The second T20I by 4 wickets and the multi-format series by taking an unassailable lead at 9 points (to India’s 5).
It was a thriller that went down to the wire.... till India failed to contain the ropes at death. A brilliant win for the hosts under pressure and much credit to India for making a match out of this. But the team has much to introspect too.
Australia 118/6 after 19 overs, need 1 off 6 balls.
Renuka Singh gets the penultimate over... an odd call from India. The rookie feeds a full toss on the first ball that is struck down the ground for four by Tahlia McGrath. Make that back-to-back boundaries, and suddenly it’s Australia’s match again. McGrath moves to 41 off 32.
Australia 105/6 after 18 overs, need 14 runs off 12 balls.
Shikha Pandey comes in for her final over now.... and it’s a big one for Australia with 11 runs off it, thanks to fielding. Misfields from Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar at the ropes gives away two boundaries and the equation has completely changed. Sigh, had to be fielding!
WICKET! Nicola Carey is out on 7 off 8. Australia 94/6 after 17 overs, need 25 runs in 18 balls.
Gayakwad into her final over and the spinning star gets her third of the match. Carey is STUMPED while dancing down... a bit awkward from Ghosh as the ball slips from her gloves but it finds its mark in the end. Rajeshwari Gayakwad finishes with excellent figures of 4-0-21-3
Australia 88/5 after 16 overs, need 31 runs off 24 balls.
India bring in Renuka Singh, a bit of a gamble but she gives away just six runs in singles and a double.
Australia 82/5 after 15 overs, need 37 runs off 30 balls.
Nicola Carey the new batter in, Harmanpreet brings herself back into the attack. McGrath gets a much needed boundary to make it 6 runs off the over. But the required rate is at about 7.5 now.
WICKET! Beth Mooney is out on 34 off 36. Australia 76/5 after 14 overs.
STUMPED! The stand is broken and it’s advantage India again.
What do we say to Mooney building a solid knock in the second match again? Not today, says Gayakwad. The left-arm spinner comes back into the attack and strikes on the very first ball. That is a BIG wicket, excellent work from both RGs!
Australia 71/4 after 13 overs.
Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath are rebuilding.... and rotating strike and getting runs. Why does that sounds familiar? This is the second T20I, after all.
Australia 56/4 after 11 overs.
Vastrakar is back in as India look to rotate bowlers too. Almost has Mooney but Ghosh drops a tough, wide catch behind the stumps. A second chance as Ghosh takes a low catch but the umpires go upstairs and she is clear. Just 3 runs off the over, a good one for India nonetheless.
WICKET! Ellyse Perry is out on 2 off 4. Australia 53/4 after 10 overs.
Deepti Sharma brought into the attack after that one over from Harmanpreet and she strikes on her very first ball! Perry dances down to smack the ball but she hits its straight to the captain, who jumps to pouch it.
A boundary from Mooney and the 50 comes up for Australia.
The ENEGRY from this team on the field has been very encouraging, we have a game on our hands! The required rate is over 6 at the halfway mark, but Mooney and McGrath on crease (remember the second ODI?)
Australia 46/3 after 9 overs.
Ellyse Perry, in her landmark game, is the new bat in and does she have a task on her hands! A good over from Gayakwad till Mooney gets a boundary off the final ball to make it 8 runs off it.
WICKET! Ash Garnder is out on 1 off 5. Australia 38/3 after 8 overs.
Harmanpreet Kaur brings herself into the attack as Ash Garnder comes in. Interesting choice.... and it works! A soft dismissal as Gardner cuts it straight to point, a low catch straight in Gayakwad’s hands. The captain and the team are PUMPED!
WICKET! Meg Lanning is out 15 on off 20. Australia 35/2 after 7 overs.
STUMPED by RG off RG! Spin comes into the attack and Rajeshwari Gayakwad gets the BIG ONE in her first over. Lanning dances down and Richa Ghosh does the rest with the gloves.
Australia 33/1 after 6 overs.
Pooja Vastrakar comes into the attack for the final over of Powerplay and Lanning dispatches her for a boundary off the very first ball. Mooney gets a boundary as well to make it 9 runs off the over. A good partnership is building up and fair to say the Powerplay favoured the hosts after that bright start.
Australia 24/1 after 5 overs.
Shikha Pandey has one hittable delivery in the over and Meg Lanning finds the gap, as she does. Pandey responds with another snorter. She creates another chance when Lanning lofts it but there’s no fielder there. 8 runs off the over as the Aussie captain is taking the attack to the India’s pace spearhead.
Australia 16/1 after 4 overs.
Renuka Singh continues to maintain pressure at the other end... till Beth Mooney breaks the shackles to get a boundary off the last ball to make it 8 runs off the over.
Australia 8/1 after 3 overs.
Shikha Pandey continues showing her versatility and almost creates another chance but the fielder doesn’t reach the ball. Four singles off the over
Australia 4/1 after 2 overs.
Renuka Singh bowling her first over in international cricket, starts off with a maiden. To Beth Mooney.
WICKET! Alyssa Healy is out on 4 off 2. Australia 4/1 after 1 over.
BOUNDARY & BOWLED! Shikha Pandey, making her India comeback, strikes on the second ball. Sensational swing from the veteran pacer bowling her first over from the tour, giving just the start India needed. The bowler is pumped!
India in the huddle. An energetic jog on to the middle. Early wickets, you never know!
India: 118/9 (20 overs)
Some reactions to India’s innings:
STAT ALERT: The partnership between Pooja Vastrakar (30) and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (0) is worth 37 runs. This is India’s highest ever 10th wicket partnership in T20Is and third highest 10th wicket stand in white-ball cricket.
India finish in 118/9
A sensational late cameo from Pooja Vastrakar (37 of 26) takes India to a decent score
Hannah Darlington to bowl the last over and Pooja Vastrakar starts off with a cracking boundary over the bowler’s head! She continues in the same vein, slashing at all and getting a cleanly-hit maximum on the fourth ball – also straight down long-off. She finishes with a boundary of the last ball, making it a very valuable 16-run India. Terrific batting.
India 102/9 after 19 overs.
The 100 comes up for India, in the 19th over with 9 down. That is... respectable all things considered. One over to go.
India 99/9 after 18 overs.
Pooja Vastrakar! The all-rounder is adding some much needed, and late zing to the Indian innings, with 9 down. A clean SIX and a thwacked FOUR and a five wides off the over from Nicola Carey. She moves to 18 off 15. India needed this.
WICKET! Renuka Singh is out on 1 off 3. India 81/9 after 17 overs.
Well, well... the procession continues. The newcomer is bowled in her first innings, missing the line completely from Sophie Molineux. Rajeshwari Gayakwad, the last batter, in.
Another look at that run out. Super from Australia, disastrous from India.
WICKET! Shikha Pandey is out on 1 off 3. India 78/8 after 16 overs.
Bowled her! Ash Gardner has her first wicket and Shikha Pandey’s comeback with the bat is short-lived. That’s two wickets in the over.
WICKET! Deepti Sharma is out on 16 off 19. India 75/6 after 15.2 overs
A horrible mix-up as both batters are the same end when Healy whips the bails at the striker’s end. They have to go upstairs to figure which batter, Vastrakar or Sharma, is out. Both don’t want to go on their own. Excellent fielding from Australia, of course.
India 75/6 off 15 overs.
Hannah Darlington comes into the attack, the seventh Australian bowler in 15 overs. Meg Lanning has a lot of options, doesn’t she? Four runs off the over.
India 65/6 off 13 overs.
Deepti Sharma survives a huge LBW shout when hit on the arm by Ash Garnder. Pooja Vastrakar is the new bat in. 4 runs off the over
WICKET! Richa Ghosh is out on 2 off 10. India 61/6 off 12 overs.
Nicola Carey comes into the attack and strikes in her first over as the Indian procession continues. Ghosh comes down the track on the final ball, misses it completely and is bowled.
WICKET! Yastika Bhatia is out on 8 off 1. India 53/5 after 10 overs
A terrible miscommunication between Bhatia and new bat Richa Ghosh as the set batter is run out. At the halfway mark, India’s innings is in absolute shambles.
WICKET! Harmanpreet Kaur out on 28 off 20. India 50/4 after 9 overs.
Big wicket for Australia as Georgia Wareham strikes on the penultimate ball of the over. The India captain is stumped as she comes down, and Healy doesn’t miss much with the gloves.
India 43/3 after 8 overs.
Ellyse Perry back for her second and Harmanpreet Kaur makes it a big over with three boundaries. 15 runs off the over, much needed.
India 25/3 after 7 overs.
Yastika Bhatia is the new bat in. Ash Garnder comes into the attack and gives away just 3 runs.
WICKET! Jemimah Rodrigues is out on 7 off 13. India 25/3 after 6 overs.
Oh dear, last match’s best performer is out cheap and India have lost three wickets in six overs! Sophie Molineux returns for the last over of the Powerplay and Rodrigues comes down the track to slog it out, but doesn’t get anything on the heave and it goes straight the fielder inside the ring. The reprieve she got off a tough chance in the last over doesn’t last long. A very, very good Powerplay for Australia.
India 24/2 after 5 overs:
Vlaeminck continues, but no wicket in this over and an actual boundary! Harmanpreet gets a delivery in her zone and she flicks it to square leg. Hang on, make that back-to-back boundaries for the captain – two near identical strokes to inject some much needed momentum in the Powerplay. 10 runs off the over.
India 14/2 after 4 overs:
Harmanpreet Kaur is the new batter in. Ellyse Perry, who made anther record today, comes into the attack and bowls a very tidy over with just 2 runs off it.
WICKET! Shafali Verma is out on 3 off 7. India 12/2 after 2.5 overs.
Both Indian openers are out in the span of two overs from Tayla Vlaeminck.
Shafali Verma, as she does, goes hard at the ball but doesn’t get the timing or distance and it goes straight to the fielder at mid-off. Not the best of starts for India.
India 9/1 after 2 overs
Jemimah Rodrigues, star of the last match, is the new bat in. Sophie Molineux to share the new ball as Australia go for seam-spin combo. Four singles off the over.
WICKET! Mandhana is out on 1 off 5. India 5/1 after 1 over
Here we go, Tayla Vlaeminck with the new ball and she strikes.
The express pacer, returning from injury, is still struggling with rhythm and a couple of extras in her first over. But on the ninth ball of the over, she induces an edge from Smriti Mandhana which goes straight to the fielder at mid-wicket. A very good, low catch from Nicola Carey and the Indian opening stand is broken early.
Stat Alert: Ellyse Perry becomes the most capped Australian female player of all-time with 252 caps, passing Alex Blackwell.
TEAM NEWS and PLAYING XI:
Both Australia and India are fielding unchanged XIs from the last match.
TOSS TIME:
And Australia have won the toss.... again amid laughter from both captains.
Meg Lanning has chosen to bowl first. Of course.
The multi-format series stands 7-5 in Australia’s favour and India will need to win both remaining matches – the T20Is on Saturday and Sunday – to win it.
Read more in our preview
01.00 pm: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the final leg of India’s tour of Australia. After rain played spoilsport in the first T20I, Meg Lanning’s Australia and Harmanpreet Kaur’s India meet for the second in Carrara, Gold Coast.
Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham
India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh.
Here’s a quick recap of the multi-format series and the points tally:
First ODI: Australia won by nine wickets (2-0)
Second ODI: Australia won by five wickets (4-0)
Third ODI: India won by two wickets (4-2)
One-off Test: Match drawn (6-4)
First T20I: Match rained out (7-5)
Follow Scroll.in’s coverage of India tour of Australia here.