Australia Women defeated India Women convincingly by 21 runs in the third Twenty20 International to take a 2-1 series lead. The victory was led by star all-rounder Ellyse Perry (47 off 75), Grace Harris (41 off 18), and a controlled bowling effort.
Australia scored 172 for 8 in 20 overs when batting first. In response, despite Shafali Verma's 41-ball 52, India were held to 151 for 7.
Smriti Mandhana, previous game's top player, struggled to get going when attempting to get a difficult total before being eliminated by Darcie Brown for 1 off 10. Following her dismissal, Shafali and Jemimah Rodrigues consistently hit boundaries to keep up the necessary run rate.
Rodrigues (16) hit three fours against Annabel Sutherland, but he was unable to keep going and was bowled out by Brown in the fifth over. At the conclusion of the powerplay, Shafali, who Ashleigh Gardner had dropped off Megan Schutt, helped India reach 41/2.
After the power play ended, Shafali stepped up her aggression, hitting three fours in a Nicola Carey over before hitting a six against Alana King. She and the team's captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, reached 79/2 midway through their innings.
Harmanpreet took advantage of a missed opportunity to stump someone in a King over by hitting two fours in the following King over. Shafali, on the other hand, received a lucky break in the 13th over when she hammered a Brown delivery to extra cover. Tahlia McGrath dived in to take the catch, but the bowler overstepped.
The opener reached fifty in 39 balls, but Australia quickly claimed the wickets of Devika Vaidya and Richa Ghosh in the same over, and Carey had Shafali caught at deep mid wicket.
India finally need 51 from the final four overs, but they fell far short of the target as Australia restrained the hosts, with Schutt taking the crucial wicket of Harmanpreet in the 17th -. Despite the fact that Gardner only conceded three runs in the 18th over and Deepti Sharma hit three fours off Carey in the 19th, India's task of 27 runs off the final over proved to be too difficult.
Perry served as the foundation of Australia's batting effort earlier on. As Renuka Singh and Anjali Sarvani claimed the wickets of Alyssa Healy and McGrath, respectively, she entered the batting order at No. 4 as early as the second over.
Australia was in trouble at 5/2 but a 64-run partnership between Perry and Beth Mooney spearheaded the comeback. Perry and Mooney both dealt regular boundaries, assisting Australia to score 43 points during the powerplay.
Ashleigh Gardner was also eliminated by the leg-spinner as Mooney finally got out to Vaidya for 30 off 22. The quick wickets didn't stop Perry, though; she carried on and reached fifty off 33 balls.
Despite being in difficulty at 5/2, Australia managed to rally thanks to a 64-run partnership between Perry and Beth Mooney. Perry and Mooney both provided consistent boundaries, enabling Australia to score 43 points when on the man advantage.
Deepti dismissed Sutherland cheaply but she also conceded a couple of boundaries. Harris's blitz eventually came to an end in the 19th over. Thereafter, Deepti dismissed Carey in the final over and gave away only five runs despite being hit for a boundary off the last ball by Alana King as Australia were kept under 175.
Brief scores: Australia 172/8 in 20 overs (Ellyse Perry 75, Grace Harris 41; Renuka Singh 2-24) beat India 151/7 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 52, Harmanpreet Kaur 37; Darcie Brown 2-19) by 21 runs.