Ellyse Perry couldn’t have asked for a better way to finish her 300th international game as she hit a six to steer Australia to a six-wicket win over India and level the T20 series at one victory each.
Perry smashed the ball over the boundary rope to secure the victory with an over to spare as she and Phoebe Litchfield paired up to chase down India’s target with relative ease.
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The 33-year-old ended the contest unbeaten and as Australia’s top scorer with 34 runs from 21 balls in an innings that included three four’s and two sixes.
Perry capped off a solid innings from the Aussies as Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney racked up 51 runs in the opening partnership before Healy departed for 26 in the eighth over.
Mooney was out just seven runs later for 20, handing India some vital momentum.
However, Mooney’s wicket brought Perry to the crease and she helped shift the contest back in Australia’s favour.
Perry and Tahlia McGrath put on a 31-run partnership but the Aussies then lost two wickets for just nine runs after the latter (19) and Ash Gardner (7) were sent packing.
Yet there was little India could do to break Perry or Litchfield as the two plundered the runs in the 19th over.
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Litchfield hit Indian spinner Shreyanka Patil for four with the very first ball of the over before scoring two runs with the next delivery.
A single from the youngster put Perry on strike, with just four runs required for victory.
But Perry decided to blast Patil over the rope to put the cherry on top for the Aussies as they clinched the victory.
The Australian bowling attack helped set the attainable target of 131 for victory as Kim Garth, Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham all snared two wickets each after India batted first.
Deepti Sharma was India’s best with the bat, chalking up 30 runs off 27 deliveries before she was run out on the final delivery of their innings.
