INDW vs AUSW: Mooney surpasses 2,000 T20I runs; McGrath shines
Blistering knocks from Australia's top-order batters Beth Mooney (82*) and Tahlia McGrath (70*) powered the visitors to 187/1 against India Women in the second of five-match WT20Is. Mooney clocked her second successive fifty of the series. She also breached the 2,000-run mark in WT20Is, only the third Aussie batter to do so. All-rounder McGrath notched her fourth WT20I fifty. We decode their stats.
Mooney breaches the 2,000 run-mark in WT20Is
Left-handed batter Mooney whipped 82* off 54 deliveries, striking 13 boundaries. Notably, Mooney was dropped while batting on 21 in the 12th over. She made the opportunity count. She slammed her 15th WT20I fifty, thereby racing to 2,064 runs at 41.28. As per ESPNcricinfo, she is only the third Aussie batter to score 2,000 WT20I runs after Meg Lanning (3,211) and Alyssa Healy (2,269).
McGrath averages 121.25 in WT20Is
McGrath has been a prolific performer for the Aussie Women since her debut in the 20-over format. The right-hander smacked 70* off 51 deliveries, hitting 10 fours and a six. Interestingly, she was dropped while batting on 9 in the sixth over. She scored her fourth WT20I fifty. She has raced to 485 runs while averaging a monstrous 121.25.
Mooney-McGrath stitch a record partnership
As per Kausthub Gudipati, Mooney and McGrath's 158-run stand is the highest partnership for AUSW in T20Is, surpassing the previous best of 151 between Mooney and Healy versus Bangladesh in 2020. Mooney-McGrath have become the first pair to fetch multiple century partnerships in WT20Is against India Women. The duo whacked an unbeaten 100-run stand in the first outing. It's the joint-fourth-highest partnership in WT20Is.
How did Australia’s inning pan out?
Put to bat, Australia had a brisk start with skipper Healy whipping 25 off 15 deliveries. The visitors looked a bit cautious post Healy's dismissal but changed gears from the eighth over mark. Mooney-McGrath toyed with the attack on offer, plundering 53 runs off the last five overs to tally 187/1. Meanwhile, off-spinner Deepti Sharma (1/31) was the only positive for INDW.
Records galore for Mooney and McGrath
As per Kausthub Gudipati, Mooney and McGrath hammered the first 150-plus partnership in WT20Is in India. They broke the previous best of 144 runs between Lizelle Lee and Sune Luus in 2019. Mooney-McGrath also hold the joint-most non-opening century partnerships in WT20Is (3). They share this record with Lanning and Elyse Villani. All three century stands between Mooney and McGrath have come in 2022.
