Georgia Voll signalled a bright future for Australia beyond the retirement of Alyssa Healy by leading the way to a 19-run victory over India to square the Twenty20 series with one game to play.
The 22-year-old Voll (88, 57 balls) combined with Beth Mooney (46) for an opening partnership of 128 in 14.5 overs at Canberra’s Manuka Oval, the backbone of a tally of 5-163 that proved too steep for the tourists to run down.
Georgia Voll bats at Manuka Oval.Credit: Getty Images
Though Smriti Mandhana (31) and Shafali Verma (29) got India off to a swift reply by adding 57 against some wayward new ball bowling, new Australian captain Sophie Molineux (2-37) marshalled the bowlers cleverly after she broke the stand with an lbw verdict.
Molineux made another key call when agreeing to review a caught behind appeal by Kim Garth (2-16) against Mandhana, which showed that the left-hander had got a thin edge down the leg side and into Mooney’s gloves. Molineux had made the “T” signal with a second to spare.
Garth, Ash Gardner (3-22) and Annabel Sutherland (2-18) then tightened the screws expertly, absorbing a 55-run stand between Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh to bring on a collapse of 6-7 as the required rate climbed.
Sophie Molineux of Australia celebrates taking a wicket.Credit: Getty Images
The final game of the T20 series is at Adelaide Oval on Friday night, before the multi-format tour moves to three ODIs and a Test match in Perth.
Voll’s highest T20 score for Australia thus far was speckled with 11 boundaries to all corners, with one six slog swept powerfully towards the team dugouts. In her eighth match, Voll showed why Australia’s selectors had entrusted her to replace Healy as team’s top order firecracker.
“We were looking to really dominate this game so it was nice to put that performance on,” Voll said afterwards.
She was also able to pierce the field on the off side and straight, while several leg side deliveries were worked nicely to the rope around the corner.
Australia’s score ceiling was limited, though, by struggles at the other end. Beth Mooney played a sheet anchor role in a century opening stand, but struggled to accelerate as she has done on many other occasions.
Mooney’s exit, clunking one to mid on, was followed by four more wickets in the final five overs, with the remainder of the batters managing just two boundaries from a collective 24 balls faced.
The last two balls of the innings summed up the lost momentum. Ellyse Perry was run out when she was unable to ground her bat during a dive, then Ash Gardner’s miscued hit down the ground was snapped up by Shree Charani to easily run out non-striker Georgia Wareham for a diamond duck.
In all, Australia returned 5-35 from the final 31 balls of the innings, turning a big score into one that would take some defending. To Molineux’s delight and doubtless relief, the defence was a grand one.
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