Sandhu's four-fer overpowers Litchfield-Perry's 79-run stand that propelled Australia to 141 against India Women

Mumbai: Titas Sadhu's four-wicket haul neutralized Phoebe Litchfield and Ellyse Perry's 79-run stand which propelled Australia Women's score to 141 in the first T20I against India at the DY Patil Sports Academy on Friday.
Australia overcame early hiccups following a sensational spell from young rising pacer Titas Sadhu. She removed the dangerous trio of Beth Mooney (17), Tahlia McGrath (0) and Ashleigh Gardner (0) inside the powerplay. McGrath's six-ball duck and Gardner's golden duck came in the final over of the powerplay. Right-arm pacer Renuka Singh also clinched the crucial wicket of skipper Alyssa Healy for a paltry score of 8 to put India in firm control. Phoebe Litchfield whose ton brought down a handful of records in the third ODI stitched up a crucial partnership of 79 runs with Ellyse Perry to bring Australia back into the game. Both batters successfully deflected away the spin threat of the hosts combined with the pace of Pooja Vastrakar. Litchfield smashed Vastrakar all over the field as she struck a maximum and a boundary on the next delivery. Perry added icing to the cake by sending the ball into the stand over the deep backward square leg.
Before the 20-year-old picked up back-to-back boundaries, she was dropped by Richa Ghosh just two overs back.
India had another opportunity to neutralize the threat but confusion between two fielders saw Litchfield's catch drop once again.
Litchfield punished the Indian team with back-to-back sixes in Amanjot Kaur's over. The Indian pacer struck back and dismissed Litchfield for 49.
Shreyanka Patil followed up in the next over by claiming the wicket of Grace Harris. Annabel Sutherland came in, struck a maximum and went back to the pavilion by Sandhu. Deepti Sharma pulled India back into the game by removing set batter Perry for 37. Deepti struck once again in the same over by trapping Megan Schutt in front of the stumps. Shreyanka got better of Georgia Wareham to end Australia's innings with a score of 141. The two dropped catches was overshadowed by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur who successfully completed four catches to show how far India have improved in the field.
Brief Score: Australia (Phoebe Litchfield 49, Ellyse Perry 37; Titas Sadhu 4-17) vs India.