India (w) vs Australia (w) 5th T20I: Australia beat India By 54 Runs
Australia completed their T20I tour of India with an exceptional partnership between Ashleigh Gardner and Grace Harris and a hat-trick from Heather Graham to claim an emphatic 54-run victory.
Australia(W) beat India(W) by 54 runs, seal series 4-1Gardner (66* off 32) and Harris (64 off 35) put on a stunning display of timing and power at Brabourne Stadium to lead Australia to 4-196, the highest score of the series.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Grace Harris and Ashleigh Gardner were unstoppable with the bat, before Heather Graham's hat-trick finished the series with a flourish.<a href="https://twitter.com/JollyLauz18?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JollyLauz18</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvAUS</a> <a href="https://t.co/JwNiB1xvZW">https://t.co/JwNiB1xvZW</a> <a href="https://t.co/7gu5wO2yzt">pic.twitter.com/7gu5wO2yzt</a></p>— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) <a href="https://twitter.com/cricketcomau/status/1605249729092235264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Graham then picked up 4-8, including a hat-trick in two overs, as India were bowled out for 142 runs off the last ball of the innings to seal the 4-1 result in Australia's favour.
The all-rounder, playing only her third T20I, removed Devika Vaidya (11) and Radha Yadav (0) in the 13th over and then returned to bowl Renuka Thakur with the first ball of the last over.
Graham is the second Australian to take a T20I hat trick.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">An awesome display of hitting by Ash Gardner and Grace Harris secured Australia a 4-1 series win in their Twenty20 international series in India.<a href="https://t.co/UEYCM2Zres">https://t.co/UEYCM2Zres</a></p>— The Age Sport (@theagesport) <a href="https://twitter.com/theagesport/status/1605323960119226368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The five matches of the tour played at two venues in Mumbai ended with dominant Australian victories, with the intervening matches decided by a super over (in India's favour) and wins by the tourists by 21 and seven runs.
Australia were at 4-72 when Harris and Gardner combined in the 10th over of the innings.
What followed was carnage. The power pair smashed 129 runs in the last 10.2 overs at a rate of 12.64.
The Australian team will fly home on Wednesday. The next match will be an ODI and T20I series played in Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart and Canberra in January before the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February.
Match Scoreboard
Australia(w) 196/4 (20.0/20)
India(w) 142 (20.0/20)
Player of the Match: Ashleigh Gardner
Player of the series: Ashleigh Gardner
Series Summary
1st T20I: Australia won by nine wickets
2nd T20I: Match tied(India won in Super over)
3rd T20I: Australia won by 21 runs
4th T20I: Australia won by seven runs
5th T20I: Australia won by 54 runs