Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav bowled India to a 17-run win over defending champions Australia in the opening game of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Sydney on Friday.
India were restricted to 132/4 off their 20 overs before a half-century from Australian opener Alyssa Healy appeared to have the home team on track for victory. But then Yadav was brought into the attack.
Voted India’s top female player last year, she bagged the crucial wickets of Healy, Rachael Haynes and Ellyse Perry, and was desperately unlucky not to grab a hat-trick in her match-winning 4/19.
It was a big win for India, with only the top two from each of the two five-team groups making the knockout phase. A dangerous New Zealand, along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, are also in their group.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to India’s win:
And finally, a wonderful atmosphere in Sydney...
(With inputs from AFP)
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