Australia v India: first women’s T20 international – live! | Sport

7th over: India 55-3 (Rodrigues 1, Bhatia 0) Ellyse Perry will have a bowl, with the fielding restrictions now lifted. She does the job really well, a tight line giving away only three singles.

6th over: India 55-3 (Rodrigues 1, Bhatia 0) Another big shout from Molineux against Bhatia, first ball, and Bruce Oxenford says no! This time the batter is left-handed, so Molineux is coming over the wicket but bowling quite wide on the crease. Angling it in. The angle causes the umpire to think the ball is going down the leg side as it hits Bhatia on the back pad. Although ball-tracking would have said: three reds. No DRS in this series. Molineux denied the chance to be on a hat-trick.

That’s the end of a very busy powerplay.

The runs keep flowing, the players keep going. Rodrigues joins the scoring party, cutting Molineux with precision for four, then getting low and sweeping another past short fine leg. But after they rotate strike, Harmanpreet stretches forward and misses while trying to work across the line. Molineux is bowling from around the wicket, and gets the ball to angle in and straighten, hitting low on the pad. The Ox says: out.

5th over: India 46-2 (Rodrigues 1, Harmanpreet 8) Vlaeminck bowls her third over on the trot. Rodrigues guides a single to deep third, and then it’s welcome back Harmanpreet Kaur! Gorgeous hook shot for four. The bouncer, up at the grille, and she hits it right out of the screws. Vlaeminck follows up with a fuller one, and Harmanpreet flicks off her pads for four more! She’s 8 from 3 balls.

Mandhana was 17 from 10, Verma 18 from 14.

4th over: India 37-2 (Rodrigues 0, Harmanpreet 0) Gardner is having one hell of a series. Not just one, but both openers. Could be the key intervention of the day already. Two fresh players at the crease.

Two in three balls! The delivery in between is smashed for six, tossed up by Gardner and slog-swept by Verma all the way out to the fence over midwicket. But the next ball is fast and flat, darting across Verma wide of the off stump, and the batter plays the same shot but drags it much flatter. The Australians know Verma’s game, and Wareham at deep mid is positioned just right.

Golden arm Gardner! Doesn’t do much with the ball, maybe a bit of dip, and Mandhana toe-ends her attempted drive down the ground. It goes high rather than long and lands on the edge of the circle at mid-off where Darlington is waiting for her first catch in international cricket.

3rd over: India 29-0 (Mandhana 15, Verma 12) My, oh my. Verma has a notion against Vlaeminck, which is to move across outside off stump and try to ramp or deflect over the keeper or backward square leg. She does it three times in the over, and misses three times. Leaves all three stumps exposed each time. But Vlaeminck is bowling outside off, and doesn’t hit timber. Finally, fifth ball of the over, Verma moves leg side and cleans out a full ball over long on for a massive six. That was almost down the vehicle race! Huge striking!

Backs away to the sixth ball, and misses. It’s on the line of the stumps but goes over. Living by the sword, Verma, and you know what follows that.

2nd over: India 22-0 (Mandhana 15, Verma 6) Australia starting at the other end with left-arm spin, as has been the case in many games before. But Sophie Molineux ain’t quite Jess Jonassen. Mandhana goes one, two, three. Over mid-on for four, then over mid-off for six, both simple lofted drives struck with ease. Then goes back in her crease for a third big shot, swept behind square for four. India flying.

1st over: India 8-0 (Mandhana 1, Verma 6) Welcome back to the big time, Tayla Vlaeminck. She oversteps massively first ball, giving Mandhana a free hit but it only goes to fine leg for a single. Not so cheap with her next ball though: width and Verma carves her bat through the line, slicing it over point for six! Verma just bursts out laughing, even she is surprised. Backs away next ball and tries again, but misses on account of the width. So Vlaeminck follows up by following Verma, with a sharp bouncer that has her sniffing leather as she yanks her head away! Phew. Some start.

India
Shafali Verma
Smriti Mandhana
Jemimah Rodrigues
Harmanpreet Kaur *
Yastika Bhatia
Richa Ghosh +
Pooja Vastrakar
Deepti Sharma
Shikha Pandey
Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Renuka Singh

Australia
Alyssa Healy +
Beth Mooney
Meg Lanning *
Ash Gardner
Ellyse Perry
Tahlia McGrath
Nicola Carey
Sophie Molineux
Georgia Wareham
Hannah Darlington
Tayla Vlaeminck

The news, the news. Rachael Haynes is still out injured. But Tayla Vlaeminck is back! They’ve been waiting for this since she got hurt just before the 2020 World Cup, really. Easing her in with a four-over stint. Hannah Darlington is making her debut in this format, having started out in ODIs a couple of weeks ago. This is the format where she’s been so good bowling at the end in the Big Bash. And Tahlia McGrath is playing her first T20 for Australia, which is odd considering she started in ODIs in 2016 and played a Test in 2017. But here she goes. And with Healy opening with Mooney, that means Perry will bat at 5. Interesting to see what her future in the T20 format is for Australia, given her best work domestically is done at the top.

For India, Harmanpreet Kaur is back! The captain in this format, recovered from injury. Yastika Bhatia gets a cap as reward for her good work in the other two formats. Tania Bhatia was the specialist keeper for the Test but makes way for Richa Ghosh here. The seamer Renuka Singh makes her debut, and Shikha Pandey is back in the short form after being left out of the ODIs. No room for Sneh Rana despite recent heroics in all formats.

Have a look, then chase. The T20 mantra. Australia get that chance.