1st T20I: Deepti, Richa propel India Women to 172/5 against Australia Women

Mumbai, Dec 9 (IANS) Brilliant quickfire knocks by Deepti Sharma (36 not out off 15) and Richa Ghosh (36 off 20) propelled India Women to 172/5 against Australia Women in the first T20I of the five-match series at D.Y. Patil Stadium, here on Friday.Apart from Deepti and Richa, the likes of Shafali Verma (21 off 10), Smriti Mandhana (28 off 22), and Harmanpreet Kaur (21 off 23) got decent starts but couldn't convert to big innings.Put into bat first, Shafali Verma smacked 21 runs off 10 balls to give India a flying start before falling to Elysse Perry in the third over. After Shafali's wicket, Smriti Mandhana continued the charge and hit a few boundaries to continue the momentum. But, Perry struck again with the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues (0), leaving India at 45/2 in 4.5 overs. The Aussies managed to keep a lid on the rate between overs 6-12 and also took the wickets of Smriti and Harmanpreet during that period.India were four down for 76 in the 12th over, when Richa Ghosh walked out to bat and changed the complexion of the game. She stitched a quickfire half-century partnership with Devika Vaidya (25 not out), which got India going. Richa got out in the 17th over but she had set the tone for Deepti Sharma, who came out all guns blazing. Deepti mashed four fours in a row in the last over to take India to a score of 172/5 in 20 overs.Brief scores: India Women Innings 172/5 in 20 Overs (Deepti Sharma 36 not out, Richa Ghosh 36; Ellyse Perry 2-10) vs Australia Women
--IANSavn/bsk

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