Perry to the rescue after Australia's batting wobble

The match in a tweet: Aussies win! Perry sensational with ball and bat as Australia pick up their first points of the tri-series

The Score: India 9-103 (Mandhana 35, Kaur 28; Perry 4-13, Vlaeminck 3-13) lost to Australia 6-104 (Perry 49, Gardner 22; Gayakwad 2-18) by four wickets with seven balls remaining

The Hero

Ellyse Perry backed up Saturday’s bowling performance with another brilliant display, first with the ball and then with the bat.

Australia clearly thought pace was the key to troubling India and the ploy worked superbly, with Perry striking the first blow with her first delivery of the match, bowling 16-year-old opener Shafali Verma (5).

She was even more devastating when returning in the 14th over, removing Harmanpreet Kaur (28) with a short-pitched delivery that the India captain mishit to Nicola Carey at third man, before Taniya Bhatia (0) hit a simple catch to Beth Mooney at backward point the very next ball. There was no hat-trick for Perry, but she picked up a third wicket for the over when Deepti Sharma departed for a duck.

As she so often does, Perry then looked at home with the bat where so many others had struggled on a wearing pitch being used for a third consecutive match.

She was handed a life on 35 when Arundhati Reddy dropped a well-struck return catch, but largely resisted the temptation to force things against India’s slow, spin-heavy attack, expertly finding the gaps to steer her way to 49 from 47 deliveries.

In a chase where the only other Australian to reach double figures was Ashleigh Gardner (22), Perry was – once again – a class above.

The Pace Ace

Tayla Vlaeminck (3-13) was back in the Australia XI and made an immediate impact with her express pace.

Returning from an ACL strain, the Victorian bowled with serious heat, regularly hitting the 120km mark to trouble the Indian batters.

She bowled five dot balls to Jemimah Rodrigues before enticing the India No.3 a drive that only managed to pick out Carey on the boundary.

Vlaeminck collected two more as India collapsed, removing Veda Krishnamurthy (8) and Reddy (4), to finish with her best T20I figures.

The Collapse

Perry and Vlaeminck combined for five wickets in the space of 10 balls to rip through the Indian batting line-up and all but secure victory for their side.

It all started when Perry’s short-ball tactics brought about the demise of India captain Kaur and the wickets continued to tumble, with a boundary from Arundhati Reddy the only scoring shot during the 10-ball blitz.

The Consolation Act

Against the run of play, Smriti Mandhana was typically dangerous for India, making a fast start and clearing the boundary in the first over of the match.

She was robbed of the strike early, facing just nine deliveries in the Power Play, but added crucial runs in a 40-run stand with captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

She looked set to launch when she hammered Jess Jonassen for six in the 10th over, but fell attempting a second maximum two balls later, caught by Perry at deep square leg.

The Stat

Perry’s 4-13 was the sixth-best return by an Australian woman in T20 Internationals, and the second best of her T20I career behind the 4-9 she took against India in 2016.

The Milestone

Alyssa Healy has now played 74 consecutive T20 Internationals, more than any other player, surpassing the previous record held by Pakistan’s Sana Mir.

The Injury

Australia captain Meg Lanning missed the match due to a back complaint, which she aggravated when diving in the field during Saturday’s loss to England, with deputy Rachael Haynes stepping in as skipper.

It was the third time since October 2018 that Lanning has missed an international game due to her back and it remains to be seen when she will be cleared to return.

The Next Stop

Australia, England and India all now head to Melbourne – all with one win apiece – for the second round of tri-series matches at Junction Oval, starting with England v India on Friday.

Australia XI: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Rachael Haynes (c), Jess Jonassen, Nicola Carey, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Tayla Vlaeminck Megan Schutt

India XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Veda Krishnamurthy, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav 

CommBank T20I tri-series

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

First T20I: India beat England by five wickets

Second T20I: England beat Australia in Super Over

Third T20I: February 2, Australia v India, Manuka Oval

Fourth T20I: February 7, India v England, Junction Oval

Fifth T20I: February 8, Australia v India

Sixth T20I: February 9, Australia v England

Final: February 12, Junction Oval

* All matches will be broadcast on the Seven Network and Fox Cricket, live stream on Kayo and the CA Live app or listen on ABC Grandstand

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Warm-ups

February 15: Australia v West Indies, Allan Border Field

February 18: Australia v South Africa, Karen Rolton Oval

Tournament

February 21:Australia v India, Sydney Showgrounds

February 24: Australia v Sri Lanka, WACA Ground

February 27: Australia v Bangladesh, Manuka Oval 

March 2: Australia v New Zealand, Junction Oval

March 5: Semi-final 1, SCG

March 5: Semi-final 2, SCG

March 8: Final, MCG

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE

* All matches will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo, while Australia’s matches will also be broadcast on the Nine Network