Voll and Gardner haul Australia back to level terms

New Australia captain Sophie Molineux had a point to prove. Her captaincy had begun under a cloud, literally and metaphorically in Sydney. Her team was outbowled, outbatted and outclassed in a rain-curtailed opener that India won by DLS. Four days later at Canberra's Manuka Oval, the response from her side was emphatic. Powered by Georgia Voll's excellent 88 at the top and Ashleigh Gardner's clinical three-wicket haul, Australia levelled the three-match T20I series at 1-1, handing India a 19-run defeat that leaves the decider in Adelaide on Saturday with everything still to play for.

Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and put Australia in, a decision that looked astute through the first two overs when Australia managed just eight runs, then slowly unravelled over the next 10 as her bowlers had no answer to Voll.

Australia's young right-hander walked out and immediately took charge of the batting, treating the Indian attack with a freedom reminiscent of her WPL final heroics from just weeks ago. While the experienced Beth Mooney played a measured anchor role at the other end, Voll did the heavy lifting with breathtaking authority. The ball disappeared off her bat to all parts of the ground - 11 boundaries and a towering six in a 57-ball 88 that set the tone for Australia's total of 163 for five.

The opening stand yielded 128 off just 89 balls, the biggest first-wicket partnership by Australian women against India in the format, surpassing the previous record that Mooney herself had been part of when she combined with Alyssa Healy for 115 in Melbourne six years ago. Mooney contributed 46 from 39 balls, just short of a half-century, before falling to a mistimed shot at mid-on. But India fought back well from there.

Arundhati Reddy, following on from her heroics in Sydney, was again the most penetrative of the Indian seamers, finishing with 2 for 30. She also accounted for Voll in the 17th over. A disciplined effort in the death meant Australia managed only 24 runs from the final four overs to finish with 163 on the board.

For the first six overs of the chase, India looked well on course to ride that momentum past the finish line. The visitors reached 54 without loss after the PowerPlay, ahead of where Australia had been at the same stage, with Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana racing off the blocks.

Then Molineux walked in as a bowler, and everything changed. Her first key intervention came with an LBW decision against Shafali that DRS could not overturn. Gardner followed up by removing the dangerous Jemimah Rodrigues for just four, and when Mandhana was caught behind off Kim Garth - reviewing a sharp take from Mooney down the leg side that wasn't given out on the field, India had lost three wickets inside nine overs and their run-rate requirement had begun to climb steeply.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh tried to put the chase back on track with a 55-run stand. But once the Indian captain fell to Kim Garth, the wheels came off. India lost 6 for 7 and ended up well short.

Brief scores:Australia 163/5 in 20 overs (Georgia Voll 88, Beth Mooney 46; Arundhati Reddy 2-30) beat India 144/9 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 36; Ashleigh Gardner 3-22, Annabel Sutherland 2-18) by 19 runs.