170/1 (17.0)
CR : 10.00
169/4 (20.0)
CR : 8.45
Australia Women won by 9 wickets
Player of the Match
Tahlia McGrath
3/2691(49)
16.5
4
H Knight to M Lanning
Boundaries are flowing here at the Adelaide Oval! Geez, this is easy peasy for the home side. Width offered, outside the off. Lanning prods and carves it through the point for a boundary..
3000 T20I runs for Meg Lanning!
16.6
4
H Knight to M Lanning
There it is, boundary to end the over! Astonishing performance by the Aussies. This has been a one-sided affair and the home side have crossed the winning line with ease. Low full toss on the pads. Lanning bends low and swipes it between the fine leg and deep square fielder to end the contest..
Over 17
Australia Women 170/1
Meg Lanning64(44)
Tahlia McGrath91(49)
Heather Knight0-17(1.0)
AUSW won by 9 wickets
And with that, we come to the conclusion of the first T20 of this women’s Ashes series. It was an onslaught by Tahlia Mcgrath and Meg Lanning as they chased down this competitive total of 170 with 9 wickets and 3 overs remaining. With this victory, they take a 1-0 lead in this three-match T20 series.
Aussies started the run chase with fire and aggression. Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy opened the innings and the latter wasn’t able to get going as she departed on just 7 inside the powerplay. That brought in Tahlia McGrath who was stunning with the bowl in hand. With the bat in hand, she looked lethal in the middle taking on Sarah Glenn, Freya Davies and Nat Sciver to the cleaners.
The skipper, Meg Lanning was solid as ever in the middle and brought up a well-worked half-century in just 38 balls to support McGrath who played a gem of an innings and remained unbeaten on 91 off just 49 deliveries. The partnership of 144(79) took them comfortably over the line to register their first Ashes victory with 3 overs remaining.
Earlier in the day, England put up a fighting total of 169 on the board but they could have got at least 10 runs more if not for Tahlia McGrath's brilliant display of yorker length bowling in her final two overs. She knocked over Sciver and the rampant Wyatt and then had Jones caught in the deep.
The platform was laid at the top by Wyatt and Beaumont who put on 82 for the first wicket. Alana King broke the stand with her first international wicket. A decent cameo from Nat Sciver helped push the England total beyond 160.
Tahlia McGrath | Player of the match: "A lot of fun, this is my home state, so was looking forward to it. Super happy with my performance. Tough preparations heading into the series. Would have loved to take part in the WNCL, but that went off the charts. I was just excited to get off my hotel room. It was a beautiful wicket to bat on."
Heather Knight | Losing Captain: "We were a bit rusty but I thought the batting was outstanding, took the game to the Aussies, probably about par. Pitch got slightly better under lights. Tahlia made it very hard to set fields. We'll take home the positives though and will be back for the next game on Saturday."
Meg Lanning | Winning skipper: "We felt it was just about the par score. The wicket was good for batting and it was hard to defend the total. McGrath was just amazing. I was standing at the other end and was enjoying everything. She bowled well with the bowl as well and brought us back in the contest."
So that's goodbye from me, Anurag, and my partners Arjun and Dasgupta from the comm box. Do join us tomorrow for more exciting fixtures from all over the world. Till then, take care!!