Australia A (Darke 106*, Mack 68) beat India A (Bist 70, Hasabnis 63, Hancock 2-27, Brown 2-36) by eight wickets
Bist and Hasabnis started slowly before picking boundaries in overs from Parsons and Kate Peterson. They focused on rotating the strike in the middle overs and eased past fifties. But India’s acceleration was cut short by Parsons having Hasabnis caught and bowled and Knott having Minnu Mani caught behind in successive overs.
Shipra Giri got going with a couple of fours but with Bist getting run out in the 45th over, India slipped to 203 for 6. Maitlan Brown cleaned up the tail in a triple-wicket maiden over, which included a run out, as India were bowled out in 48 overs.
Mack and Darke were aided by wides and a couple of threes from Soppadhandi Yashasri and Sayali Satghare’s opening spells as Australia A coasted past fifty in the 11th over. Between overs eight and 16, every single one went for at least five as Mack reached fifty in the 16th over. Darke reached hers in the 21st over with Australia A on 121 for 0.
Satghare trapped Mack lbw in the 23rd over but Darke carried on. Her 38-run stand with Knott included just one boundary but brought the asking rate well under three. Tahlia McGrath hitting four boundaries in her first 15 balls quashed the little chances for a visitors’ comeback and allowed Darke to complete a century in the 37th over. The duo stayed unbeaten to take Australia A home with 58 balls to spare.
Australia A had swept the T20I series 3-0 and have the chance to repeat the feat in the ODIs at the Gold Coast on Monday.
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