Women's Tri-Nation: Ellyse Perry's all-round show guides Australia past India

Canberra, February 2: Ellyse Perry put on an all round display as Australia women defeated Indian women by four wickets in the third match of the T20 tri-series in Canberra on Sunday (February 2).

India, who had a disappointing outing with the bat, struggled to 103 for nine in 20 overs. However, the bowlers of visiting team did well to stretch the game till the penultimate over but there were not enough runs on the board.

Perry was the undisputed star of the game, picking up three wickets in one before before making 49 off 47 balls to help Australia bounce back from their opening game defeat with a four-wicket win.

In the tournament opener, India had beaten England, while Australia had lost to England in a Super Over finish on Saturday (February 1), leaving all three teams with a win each.

#TeamIndia fought hard but it was Australia who won the match.

Scorecard 👉👉 https://t.co/2fMLhRAidM#AUSWvINDW pic.twitter.com/EEvVw6Mo8b

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) February 2, 2020

"Our lower order definitely needs to bat a lot better, especially when the top-order doesn't get runs. However, really appreciate the performance of the bowlers," said India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the post-match presentation.

Apart from opener Smriti Mandhana (35) and skipper Harmanpreet (28), Indian batters showed complete lack of application on a pitch which offered extra bounce.

India lost their last six wickets for 21 runs with Aussie Perry (4/13 in 4 overs) picking three of them in 14th over over, removing Harmanpreet, Taniya Bhatia and Deepti Sharma.

Sixteen-year-old Shafali Verma, touted as the next big thing in women's cricket, lasted only three balls while Jemimah Rodrigues crawled to 1 off 11 balls, leaving their team at 16 for two in three overs.

4-13 ✅
Handy catch ✅
Match winning 49 ✅

Good day for @EllysePerry 🤩 pic.twitter.com/lQPF8Yu3qe

— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) February 2, 2020

The experienced Mandhana and Harmanpreet added a 40-run partnership before the latter's dismissal triggered a collapse.

The spin-heavy Indian bowling attack did all they could with left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad taking two wickets for 18 runs in four overs. Deepti Sharma, who opened the bowling, too kept things tight taking one wicket for 18 runs in four overs.

India next play against England at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on February 7. The tri-series is an important preparatory event ahead of the T20 World Cup beginning in Australia on February 21.

(With PTI inputs)