Birmingham| Australian wicketkeeper and opener, Alyssa Healy, on Friday played a pivotal part in dismissing two Indian batters in the Commonwealth Games T20I opener. India women had taken on their arch-rivals Australia women in the CWG T20I opener which was played at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Keeping up with their dominant run over India, Australia defeated them by 3 wickets as they chased down 154 runs, which looked extremely tricky for them in the initial phase.
As far as the India-Australia rivalry goes, Australia has been a dominant side. In the recent T20I and 50 overs World Cups, Australia Women have eliminated India Women twice. In 2020, India faced a heavy defeat at the hands of the Aussies in the T20I World Cup final which was played in the mighty MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). replicating their dominant run, Australian women knocked India women out in the quarter-finals of the ODI World Cup played in 2022.
As women's T20I cricket makes its debut in the Commonwealth Games, India took on Australia for the opener and once again faced a defeat at the hands of the Aussies. India was average with the bat and the fall of regular wickets restricted them to a total of 154 runs. Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur top scored with 52 runs off 34 deliveries which propelled the Indian innings. While the Indian innings were on, Australian wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy claimed two catches of Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma. Healy now holds the record for most numbers of dismissals by any wicketkeeper and has raced past former India skipper and wicketkeeper MS Dhoni.
Alyssa Healy as of now is the only wicketkeeper in the gentleman's game to have more than 100 dismissals to her name.
Australia Women Playing XI: Alyssa Healy(w), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning(c), Tahlia McGrath, Rachael Haynes, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown
India Women Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia(w), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh
