India Women 141-5 (Kaur 46) beat
Australia Women 140-5 by five wickets
First Twenty20 International, Adelaide

Harmanpreet Kaur struck 46 in 31 balls to guide India Women to a five-wicket victory over Australia Women in the first Twenty20 International at the Adelaide Oval.

Alyssa Healy cracked 41 not out in 15 balls towards the end of Australia's innings as they posted 140 for five, helping them recover from 80 for five to post a competitive score.

After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, India were also impressive with the bat, as Kaur's efforts got her side home in 18.4 overs.

Smriti Mandhana made 26 and Veda Krishnamurthy 35 to help India take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Australia made a poor start when Grace Harris was caught by Kaur off Jhulan Goswami without scoring although Beth Mooney's run-a-ball 36 helped them begin to recover.

However, Meg Lanning (12), Ellyse Perry (19) and Jess Jonassen (2) all fell cheaply to leave the home side struggling.

Healy then hit five fours and two sixes and alongside Alex Blackwell, who finished on 27 not out, put on 61 for the sixth wicket to give their bowlers a chance.

Like Australia, India lost an early wicket when Mithali Raj fell to Rene Farrell for four but thereafter they were able to build handy partnerships.

Mandhana and Krishnamurthy added 55 for the second wicket and then Kaur combined with Krishnamurthy and Goswami (5) to push India close to Australia's score.

Kaur hit six fours and a six during her innings and after she fell with the score on 132, Anuja Patil (14 not out) and Shikha Pandey (4 not out) finished off the job.

The second game in the series is at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29th January.

© Cricket World 2016