Mithali Raj rules over Australia 'A' with sizzling unbeaten century

Mithali Raj en route her unbeaten 105 v Australia 'A'. Pic/Atul Kamble

It was Mithali magic all the way at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra-Kurla Complex ground yesterday as her unbeaten 105 off just 61 balls helped India 'A' beat Australia 'A' by 28 runs in the second T20. The win gave India 'A' series win with the third and final game to be played on Friday. On Monday, India 'A' beat their Australian counterparts while chasing a target. Yesterday, they set their opponents a stiff target and triumphed.

The Australians came a cropper in their quest to chase down India's 184 for five, and failed against some disciplined Indian bowling. Tahlia McGrath stood out for the visitors with her 29-ball 47. The Indian spinners - Deepti Sharma, Anuja Patil and Poonam Yadav claimed two wickets each. Mithali gave herself a fine tune-up for the forthcoming World T20 to be held in the Caribbean, through some aggressive batting.

Opening the innings with Smriti Mandhana, she refused to be deterred by the exit of Mandhana (1), Jemimah Rodrigues (5), Dayalan Hemalatha (2) and Anuja Patil (0). At the end of the ninth over, India were in dire straits at 66 for four; 56 of those runs were scored by her. Mithali dominated the proceedings by displaying a superb batting technique. India 'A' were helped by Harmanpreet Kaur too as the skipper blasted her way to 57 off just 32 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes.

Catch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates