Australia A 163 for 5 (Wilson 50, Mack 39, Ishaque 3-33) beat India A 158 for 6 (Punia 76) by five runs
A rapid half-century by Tahlia Wilson and a strong finish from the middle order proved crucial for Australia A as they secured a hard-fought five-run victory in the first T20 of India A’s multiformat visit despite an excellent innings from Priya Punia.
Wilson dominated the early exchanges with a 33-ball fifty in an opening stand of 74 with Katie Mack but the home side fell away, losing 5 for 42 before Nicole Faltum and Maddy Darke took 31 off the last two overs.
In the chase India A could never quite completely get on top of the required rate but Punia and Tanuja Kanwar added 64 for the third wicket and they needed a further 64 from 33 balls when Kanwar was smartly stumped by Faltum as she advanced at Maitlan Brown.
Despite the best efforts of Punia, who struck seven fours and three sixes, including two in three balls against Charli Knott, the requirement proved narrowly out of reach as she became one of three run outs. Left-arm spinner Sophie Day was impressive, conceding 19 runs from her four overs and just three from her last in the 17th.
With 28 runs coming off the 18th and 19th overs, India A entered the last needing 16 which captain Tahlia McGrath was able to defend despite conceding a boundary to Sayali Satghare.
Earlier, Australia A had been put into bat and Wilson ensured a strong powerplay as they reached 49 without loss after six overs. Left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque sparked India A’s fightback by removing Wilson the ball after reaching her half-century then put herself on a hat-trick in the 12th over by claiming Mack lbw and having McGrath caught behind cutting first ball.
Three overs later, Knott and Tess Flintoff fell in the space of three deliveries against Satghare and it appeared Australia A’s innings could fade away. The next three overs brought just 16 runs, but Darke and Faltum timed their late surge well with the latter slotting away three consecutive boundaries at the start of the 20th.
The teams will return to Allan Border Field for the second match on Friday followed by the last T20 on Sunday. Three ODIs then follow next week on Mackay before the tour concludes with a four-day game on the Gold Coast.
