Tess Flintoff’s Four-For Powers Australia A To Six-Wicket Win Over India A

India A endured a difficult start to their women's unofficial T20I series against Australia A, collapsing to 117 all out before the visitors chased down the target in just 14 overs to win the opening match by six wickets on Saturday.

The biggest difference between the two sides was Australia A's disciplined pace attack, led by Tess Flintoff, who produced a superb 4/13. The 23-year-old Victoria all-rounder struck twice during the powerplay and returned later to further disrupt India's recovery, finishing with four wickets.

India A's innings unravelled quickly after they chose to bat. Flintoff removed Vrinda Dinesh (1) and Shipra Giri (17) to leave the hosts struggling at 32/2. Sianna Ginger then dismissed captain Anushka Sharma (6), while Milly Illingworth struck twice in the same over to reduce India A to 50/6 after 8.1 overs.

Tejal Hasabnis, with 22 off 15 balls, and Minnu Mani, who made 23 from 14, provided brief resistance, but India A could never build the substantial partnership needed to put pressure on Australia A. The Australian pacers eventually accounted for nine of the 10 wickets to fall.

Australia A did have a few anxious moments in the chase. They slipped to 36/2 inside the powerplay and were 79/3 in the 10th over, with Anushka's off-spin claiming two wickets for 14 runs.

However, the target was too modest to sustain the pressure. Charli Knott steadied the chase with 35 off 23 balls before Anika Learoyd finished the job with an unbeaten 33 off 19 deliveries, including five fours and a six.

Australia A now lead the three-match series 1-0, with the second T20I scheduled for Tuesday and the decider on Thursday.

The teams will subsequently play three unofficial ODIs in Mohali from September 20-25, followed by a one-off unofficial Test in Dharamsala from September 29.