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[Saba Sports News] In the third T20I at Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, the Australian women’s team clinched the three-match series against India with a commanding seven-wicket victory. Set to bat first on Tuesday, January 9, India was limited to 147/6 in 20 overs, thanks to Annabel Sutherland (2/12) and Georgia Wareham’s (2/24) effective bowling. Australia achieved the target in 18.4 overs, led by Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney’s impressive batting.
Healy and Mooney, opening the innings, quickly built a formidable 85-run partnership in 60 balls. Healy struck her 16th T20I half-century, scoring 55 (38) with nine fours and a six. Mooney, not out on 52* (45), registered her third T20I fifty, partnering with Phoebe Litchfield (17* off 13) to secure the win in the penultimate over, thus sealing the series 2-1 for Australia.
Earlier, India’s openers, Shafali Verma (26 off 17) and Smriti Mandhana (29 off 28), had a strong start with a 39-run opening stand. However, Megan Schutt broke this partnership, and subsequent wickets fell quickly, including captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s dismissal for 3. Battling these setbacks, Richa Ghosh anchored the innings with a steady 34 (28), and valuable contributions from Amanjot Kaur (17* off 14) and Pooja Vastrakar (7* off 2) pushed India to their final score.