3 players who stood out for India A Women in white-ball leg of Australia tour ft. Priya Punia
India A Women are up against hosts Australia in the ongoing multi-format tour. The white-ball leg of the tour came to a fitting end for India A Women as they beat Australia by a massive 171-run margin in what was an absolutely dominating performance from start to finish.
The tour began with three T20s, none of which went India's way. In the first T20, Australia A Women clinched a narrow five-run win. They went on to win the second game by eight wickets and the third by seven, therefore claiming the series 3-0 as well.
Come the one-day games, the hosts carried momentum and began with a four-wicket victory. They continued their strong display and won the second game by eight wickets to seal the series.
However, India A Women finally put an end to the hosts' unbeaten run by winning the third one-day in grand fashion. While the overall results have been disappointing, there have been some standout individual performances from the Indian Women.
Here are three such players who stood out for India A Women in the white-ball leg (T20 and One Day combined).
3 players who stood out for India A Women in Australia tour white-ball leg
#3 Priya Mishra
Priya Mishra played only in the final one-day game. However, one match was enough for the 20-year-old to showcase her talent as she grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Batting first, India A Women put up a challenging total of 243/9 with the bat from their 50 overs. The run-chase turned out to be a disaster for the hosts as they were skittled out for a paltry score of 72.
Priya Mishra was the wrecker-in-chief as she ran through the Australian batting line-up. The youngster bagged five wickets to set up a dominating victory for India. She ended with figures of 5/14 from her five overs with an economy rate of just 2.80. Despite playing just one game, she ended as the third-highest wicket-taker in the series.
#2 Priya Punia
India A Women suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the T20s. However, Priya Punia impressed with her batting display. She ended as the second-highest run-getter and the top-scorer from India in the series.
Priya Punia scored 116 runs from three innings at an average of 38.66. She also scored a half-century. Her best performance with the bat came in the opening T20 at Brisbane.
Australia A Women gave India a challenging target of 164 runs to win. While the rest of the batters struggled to get out, Priya took the attack to the opposition from one end.
She scored a 59-ball 76 which kept India in the hunt. Her innings comprised seven fours and three sixes. Unfortunately, she did not find enough support from others and India finished at 158/6, losing the game by a close margin in the end.
#1 Raghvi Bist
Raghvi Bist was India A Women's best performer in the white-ball leg. She put up a consistent display with the bat in the one-days, ending as the leading run-scorer with 205 runs from three innings, averaging 68.33.
The 19-year-old scored half-centuries in all three games. Her best score of 82 came in the first one-day, where she helped the team to a total of 249/9 batting first. India went on to lose the game eventually.
In the second game, Raghvi once again shone with the bat. India were bowled out for just 218 runs batting first. However, she made a significant contribution, scoring a 93-ball 70.
In the final game of the series, she scored a 64-ball 53 as the visitors posted a competitive total of 243/9, which Australia failed to chase down later on.