Indian cricket team suffers late collapse as Australia level series

The Indian women’s cricket team lost to Australia by 19 runs in the second match of the AUS-W vs IND-W T20 2026 series at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Thursday.

Georgia Voll’s 88 off 57 balls headlined world No. 1 Australia’s innings as the hosts posted 163/5 in 20 overs batting first.

Arundhati Reddy, who registered a career-best bowling figures of 4/22 to lead India to victory in the first T20 cricket match of the series in Sydney on Sunday, was once again the pick of the bowlers for the visitors with 2/30.

World No. 3 India were on course to chase down the target but lost six wickets for 24 runs in the last four overs to end with 144/9.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur top-scored with 36 off 30 while Ashleigh Gardner was the top wicket-taker for Australia and logged the figures of 3/22.

The series decider will be played in Adelaide on Saturday.

Just as in the first game in Sydney, India won the toss and opted to field.

Australia, however, seized early control courtesy of a fluent knock by Voll. She struck 11 fours and a six while anchoring an 128-run opening stand with Beth Mooney, who surpassed Meg Lanning to become Australia’s top scorer in women’s T20Is during her knock.

Voll reached her half-century in 31 balls in the eighth over, and with Beth Mooney’s composed 46 off 39 providing the perfect foil. The pair cruised through the powerplay and raised the team’s hundred in the 12th over.

At 114/0 after 13 overs, Australia looked primed for a late surge before India’s bowlers clawed back the contest.

The first breakthrough came in the 15th over when Reddy dismissed Mooney, before the pacer returned in the 17th to end Voll’s resistance. Renuka Singh complemented the effort with a tidy 1/27.

India’s fielders backed up the bowlers with two sharp run-outs, allowing the hosts just 49 runs in the final seven overs while taking five wickets.

India made a brisk start to their chase of 164, with openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana adding 50 runs inside six overs.

Shafali (29 off 23 balls) looked in good touch before being trapped LBW by Sophie Molineux in the seventh over. Jemimah Rodrigues lasted only six deliveries before departing for 4.

Mandhana, who had punched her way to 31 off 24, became the third wicket to fall when she nicked behind off Kim Garth, leaving India at 71/3 in the 10th over.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh rebuild with a 55-run stand as India needed 44 off the final four overs with seven wickets in hand.

However, India lost both the set batters in the next two overs, which left the lower order to get 34 from 12 balls.

Wickets kept tumbling from both ends and despite Kranti Gaud’s strong finish in the final over, India fell short by 19 runs.

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