Lanning's Schutt switch proves a materstroke

Megan Schutt has revealed she didn't even realise she was on a hat-trick when she created history as the first Australian woman to achieve the feat in a T20 International on Monday.

Schutt removed India stars Smirti Mandhana and Mithali Raj in consecutive balls to end the second over of the India chase, but was then forced to wait for her hat-trick ball as Australian captain Meg Lanning made a bowling change, handing the ball to Delissa Kimmince.

But Schutt returned from the other end to bowl the fifth over of the match and with her first delivery – the hat-trick ball – she enticed a slog from Deepti Sharma, who only succeeded in picking out Amanda-Jade Wellington at mid-off, completing the historic feat and leaving India reeling at 3-26.

"To be honest, I didn't even know I was on a hat-trick," Schutt laughed when asked if she had questioned her skipper about briefly delaying her hat-trick ball.

"Everyone keeps slamming Meg here but I wasn't even aware, so it was probably a good thing."

Lanning explained the decision to switch ends for Schutt was simply a matter of assessing the game situation. Throughout the series, the Australian skipper has often been employing her bowlers in one-over spells as she looks to keep the opposition on their toes.

"Sometimes there's a bit of thought put into it and sometimes it comes down to a bit of instinct or gut feel, whether one bowler matches up better to their batters is the main driver," Lanning explained.

"We have been bowling in short spells which isn't easy on the bowlers, but we've been quite realistic in how we want to go about it, we want to take wickets.

"We go in with a plan but in T20s the key is being able to adapt and roll with it and it's been great that the bowlers have embraced that and been willing to come on and off, we really haven't missed a beat there."

Before the match, the talk had been about what sort of total would be big enough for a team batting first on a flat Brabourne Stadium pitch with a fast outfield.

Australia figured their 5-186 was around par at the innings break, but thanks to Schutt's triple strike it proved more than enough.

Having gone for 1-30 from her three overs against England last Thursday, when even good deliveries were dispatched to the boundary by an on-song Tammy Beaumont and Natalie Sciver, there was a touch of cricketing karma in the nature of Schutt's first two wickets on Monday.

Both deliveries were well wide of the stumps but were deflected onto the woodwork by the batter, with Schutt sheepishly giggling and putting her head in her hands in mock embarrassment as the wickets tumbled.

Image Id: 7676FDBC732F47F88DF371EE86B8E5D8 Image Caption: Schutt reacts after the dismissal of Mithali Raj // BCCI

"I can't say that was my plan of attack but I had to adapt to the conditions and somehow they hit the stumps so I was happy with that," Schutt said

Schutt's slice of history also caps for what's been an excellent summer for the Australian spearhead.

She was unlucky to not be named Player of the Series in the Ashes after taking 18 wickets at 15.16 in seven matches across all three formats last November, while her miserly bowling in the ODI series against India earlier this month saw her climb to second spot in the ICC's rankings.

Image Id: 1AAB257191634D8F8002642C3814E4FE Image Caption: Schutt completes her hat-trick in Mumbai // BCCI

For Lanning, having an in-form Schutt at her disposal is proving invaluable.

"Especially in the conditions we're playing in at the moment, which are quite batter-friendly, to have someone who I can go back to and for her to be very reliable makes me feel a little bit better," Lanning said.

"We want our senior bowlers leading the way and Schutter has done that throughout the series."

Part of that upturn in form comes from a technical change Schutt made in the first half of 2017.

In the lead-up to the World Cup, Schutt revealed she'd cut "a lot of jazz" from the length her run up in an effort to conserve energy. Now that she's mastering her new approach, it's a change that has paid off richly in the stifling Indian heat.

"It's left me with a lot of energy," she said. "I had a lot of wasted space there with my run up, so changing that was something I really needed to do and it's something I wish I'd done earlier in my career, to be honest.

"Now it's just about working on consistency and change-up balls. We knew pitches here aren't always pace friendly, so it's about having back-up plans when the batters are coming hard."

Commonwealth Bank Tour of India

Australia T20 squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Naomi Stalenberg, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Anuja Patil, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Rumeli Dhar, Mona Meshram.

England T20I squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Kate Cross, Alice Davidson-Richards, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Katie George, Jenny Gunn, Alex Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Amy Jones, Anya Shrubsole, Bryony Smith, Nat Sciver, Fran Wilson, Danni Wyatt

Warm-up match Australia beat India A by 321 runs. Report

Warm-up match Australia beat India A by seven wickets. Report

ODI series

First ODI Australia won by eight wickets. Scorecard

Second ODI Australia won by 60 runs. Scorecard

Third ODI Australia won by 97 runs. Scorecard

T20I tri-series

First T20I Australia defeated India by six wickets. Scorecard

Second T20I England defeated Australia by eight wickets. Scorecard

Third T20I England defeated India by seven wickets. Scorecard

Fourth T20I Australia defeated India by 36 runs. Scorecard

Fifth T20I Australia v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 28. Live Coverage

Sixth T20I India v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 29. Live Coverage

Final Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, March 31. Live Coverage