Smriti, Harman star in win over Australia A

Mumbai, October 22 

Smriti Mandhana and the experienced Harmanpreet Kaur shone with the bat as India A defeated Australia A by four wickets in the lung-opener of the three match T20 series here today. Choosing to bat, Australia A scored 160/6 in 20 overs, with Heather Graham top-scoring with 43.

Smriti (72 off 40 balls) and Harmanpreet (45 off 39), however, made a mockery of the stiff target as they dominated the Aussie bowlers. The hosts surpassed the target with four wickets and an over to spare.

Left-handed Smriti showed her class after Jemimah Rodrigues (4) and wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia (0) fell cheaply. She found an able partner in Harmanpreet and the two put the side on the path to victory. When Harmanpreet fell, India A were 126/4, but Pooja Vastrakar saw the team home with an unbeaten 21.

Earlier, apart from Graham, Tahila McGrath (31) and Naomi Stalenberg (39) made useful contributions for the visitors. For India A, Anuja Patil and Deepti Sharma picked two wickets each. 

Brief scores: Australia A 160/6 in 20 overs (Heather Graham 43, Naomi Stalenberg 39; Anuja Patil 2-22); India A 163/6 (Smriti Mandhana 72, Harmanpreet Kaur 45; Lauren Cheatle 2/18). 

Australia beat UAE 

Abu Dhabi: D’Arcy Short smashed an unbeaten half-century as Australia cruised to a seven-wicket victory over United Arab Emirates in a lone T20 international in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Short helped Australia chase down a modest 118-run target in 16.1 overs after UAE were restricted to 117/6. Brief scores: UAE 117/6 in 20 overs (Shaiman Anwar 41; Coulter-Nile 2/20);  Australia 119/3 in 16.1 overs (D Short 68* , C Lynn 20; Amir Hayat 2/26)  — Agencies