Sianna Ginger’s all-round prowess gives Australia a T20 series sweep with a narrow win against a spirited India A side.
India A, led by the skipper Radha Yadav, were up against Australia A, led by the skipper Nicole Faltum, in the 3rd T20 of the ongoing three-match T20 series at the Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay.
India A conceded the T20 series courtesy of the massive 114-run defeat in the 2nd game of the series on Saturday, going 2-0 down in the series.
Decent contributions at the top of the order, Sianna Ginger’s cameo takes Australia closer to the 150-run mark.
The home skipper, Nicole Faltum, won the toss and opted to bat first in the 3rd game at Mackay. The Australia A openers, Tahlia Wilson and Alyssya Healy, yet again provided them with a solid start courtesy of a 37-run opening stand. The golden arm of Sajeeva Sajana broke the stand by sending Alyssa Healy (27 off 21 balls) back to the pavilion, providing the first breakthrough for India on the penultimate ball of the powerplay.
The Indian spinners pounced on the opening, reducing the home side to 44/3 in the 8th over of the innings. Decent partnerships throughout the innings kept the scoreboard ticking at a fair rate, while the bowlers also ensured to keep the scoring rate in check with regular breakthroughs. However, cameos from Sianna Ginger (17* off 7 balls) and Tess Flintoff (11 off 9 balls) pushed the score closer to the 150-run mark (144/8) in their quota of 20 overs. Madeline Penna (39 off 32 balls), Anika Learoyd (22 off 17 balls), and Tahlia Wilson (14 off 17 balls) chipped in with vital contributions with the bat for Australia A.
Prema Rawat (4-0-24-3) and skipper Radha Yadav (4-0-31-3) picked up three wickets apiece. Shabnam Shakil (4-0-26-0) was impressive in her spell with the ball for her side.
India’s top-order failed to convert their starts, as visitors fell agonisingly short of the run chase.
Chasing a tricky total of 145, India lost a couple of wickets in the form of Vrinda Dinesh and Uma Chetry in quick succession. Raghvi Bist joined opening batter Shafali Verma at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 43-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Shafali Verma continued to take the attack to the opposition before she was dismissed by Sianna Ginger (41 off 25 balls) in the 8th over of the run chase to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Australia A.
Minnu Mani joined Raghvi Bist at the crease, and the duo capitalised on the recovery and took India past the 100-run mark with another crucial 48-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Sianna Ginger returned and broke the stand by sending Raghvi Bist (25 off 25 balls) back to the pavilion in the 15th over of the run chase to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. Yet another Indian batter got out after getting used to the conditions.
Post her departure, India kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Prema Rawat (12* off 8 balls) chipped in with an encouraging cameo to keep the hopes alive for the Radha Yadav-led side. However, India A were eventually restricted to 140/8 in their quota of 20 overs, falling just four runs short of the target. Minnu Mani (30 off 29 balls) top-scored with the bat for India A.
Sianna Ginger (4-0-16-4) and Lucy Hamilton (4-0-22-1) were the stand-out performers with the ball for Australia A. Tess Flintoff (4-0-27-0) and Amy Edgar (4-0-33-1) were impressive with the ball for their side.
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