India condemn Australia to first home series loss since 2017

February 21, 2026 No Comments

India condemn Australia to first home series loss since 2017Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, India’s only previous bilateral series win in Australia came in 2016ByAdwaidh RajanBBC Sport journalistPublished21 February 2026, 13:12 GMT15 Comments

Updated 51 minutes ago

Third T20, Adelaide

India 176-6 (20 overs): Mandhana 82 (55); Sutherland 2-34

Australia159-9 (20 overs): Gardner 57 (45); Patil 3-22

India won by 17 runs; win three-match series 2-1

Scorecard

Australia suffered their first home bilateral series defeat in nine years as India won the third and final women’s T20I in Adelaide to seal a 2-1 series win.

Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues both struck half-centuries as they put on a 121-run second-wicket partnership – a record for India in the shortest format – to help the tourists post 176-6.

Australia fell to 32-3 at the start of their chase as off-spinner Shreyanka Patil sent back Georgia Voll and Ellyse Perry, but Ash Gardner kept them in the game with a 45-ball 57.

However, Sophie Molineux’s reign as the new Australia captain began with a defeat as Patil finished with figures of 3-22 for India, backed up by left‑arm spinner Shree Charani, who returned 3-28.

India won the rain-affected first T20I by 21 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method before Australia bounced back with a 19-run victory to set up the decider in Adelaide.

The two sides will now play a three-match ODI series, starting in Brisbane on Tuesday, followed by a one-off Test in Perth from 6 March.