Published: February 21, 2026 at 9:26 pm
Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana struck a fluent half-century to power India to a series victory over Australia in the three-match T20Is at the Adeliade Ovel on Saturday. The visitors won the final game by 17 runs to take the series 2-1.
India had won the opening match of the series after beating Australia by 21 runs via DLS method in a rain-curtailed game. They lost the second game at Canberra before winning on Saturday to register their second T20 series win over the Australians. The earlier series win had come in a T20 series back in 2016.
Smriti Mandhana smashed 82 off 55 balls to help them post a total of 176 for 6. In reply, Australia managed to score 159 for 9 as India’s Shreyanka Patil and Shree Charani claimed three wickets each.
“It’s a complete team effort. Everyone is so positive. Smriti and Jemi both played a really big role. The bowling plans were very simple. It was only about taking wickets. I think the bowlers did a really great job for us,” said India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
Chasing 177, Australia struggled to get going as India’s opening bowlers Shreyanka Patil and Renuka Singh combined to get rid of Georgia Voll, Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry inside the first four overs.
Phoebe Litchfield and Ashleigh Gardner looked to steady the ship with a 31-run partnership but the former’s dismissal in the ninth over further reduced Australia to 63 for 4 as the hosts went into the final 10 overs of the chase, needing 99 to win with six wickets in hand.
After a tight 11th over that yielded just three runs, Australia attempted to shift momentum as Georgia Wareham and Ashleigh Gardner hit a couple of timely boundaries. However, just as Wareham looked to get going, she perished in the 13th over, falling to Arundhati Reddy.
Ashleigh Gardner brought up her fifty with a four off the 16th over before succumbing moments later as India found themselves firmly on top having reduced the hosts to 129 for 6. The hosts managed to add 30 runs in the last four overs of the chase, while losing three wickets as they finished on 159 for 9.
“We actually thought we kept them to a pretty good score. It was a pretty good wicket. I think we just lost some pretty important wickets at the wrong time,” said Australia captain Sophie Molinuex.
Smriti and Jemimah put India in command
Earlier, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, India lost opener Shafali Verma in the third over, caught at mid-on off a sharp delivery from Kim Garth. Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana then went on to build a 121-run partnership for the second wicket to put India in command.
Making full use of the fielding restrictions, Mandhana and Jemimah took the attack to Australia, striking three boundaries in the sixth over to lift India to 54 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.
Once the field spread, the duo shifted gears with maturity, rotating the strike efficiently while still finding the fence at regular intervals to keep the scoring rate healthy. Mandhana brought up her fifty with a six off 38 balls and followed it up with a flurry of boundaries and maximums before she was caught at deep midwicket off Annabel Sutherland’s bowling in the 17th over.
Jemimah brought up her fifty off 41 deliveries in the following over, while new batter Richa Ghosh looked to inject late momentum with a brisk cameo, hitting a pair of fours and a six.
However, Australia closed out the innings by striking four times in the final two overs, removing both Jemimah and Ghosh, as India were restricted to just 13 runs in a late squeeze.
“It’s good to contribute to a series win. Beating Australia in Australia is something really special and really happy for the team. It was a really good to have a partnership with Jemi. When she came in and got those three quick boundaries that settled me down,” said Smriti Mandhana, who was named the Player of the Match.
Brief scores: India Women 176 for 5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 82, Jemimah Rodrigues 59; Annabel Sutherland 2/34) beat Australia Women 159/9 in 20 overs (Ashleigh Gardner 57, Phoebe Litchfield 26; Shreyanka Patil 3/22, Shree Charani 3/32, Arundhati Reddy 2/35).
