Rain spoils first T20I after India fireworks

India's outstanding start to the first CommBank T20I against Australia was ultimately ruined by more Gold Coast rain on Thursday night, with the match officially declared a no result given just 15.2 overs of play were possible.

India had motored to 4-131 at that stage, and with Jemimah Rodrigues unbeaten on 49 from 36 deliveries and fellow young gun Richa Ghosh 17no (13), a total of 170-plus looked very achievable on a Metricon Stadium pitch that looked faster than the surface that was prepared for last week's Test match.

Australia captain Meg Lanning won the toss and named two T20I debutantes in Hannah Darlington and Tahlia McGrath, while her counterpart Harmanpreet Kaur did likewise, handing caps to Yastika Bhatia and Renuka Singh.

Shafali Verma (18) and Smriti Mandhana (17) got the visitors off to an explosive start, the pair hammering 31 in quick time and seeming to enjoy the pace and bounce of returning Aussie quick Tayla Vlaeminck (0-32), who in her fourth over hit 122.9kph (and amused viewers when the television speedo claimed she hit what would have been, by some distance, a world-record 145km/h on two occasions).

Verma dealt exclusively in sixes while Mandhana looked intent on taking down the left-arm spin of Sophie Molineux, and it needed Ashleigh Gardner's introduction in the fourth over to shift the tone, with the off-spinner removing both openers in the space of five balls.

Molineux returned in the sixth over and duly struck with the big wicket of the returning Kaur (12), who had looked in ominous touch in striking three boundaries from her first four balls.

But it was Rodrigues who played the lead hand, the right-hander cutting the spinners beautifully as she got back in her crease and played the ball late and into the gaps.

She then took Darlington over extra cover twice in the debutante's first over to stamp her authority on the innings, and while Bhatia (15) fell from Georgia Wareham's first ball at the other end, Rodrigues pressed on.

Throughout, Lanning rotated her bowlers regularly, and while all four wickets fell to spin, Ellyse Perry's lone over cost her just three runs as the allrounder found good pace, at one point hitting 121.8kph.

The 21-year-old was on the cusp of a half-century when the players headed off for what initially appeared likely to be a short break.

But soon after, the rain set in, leaving Australia (seven points) needing to claim just one of the remaining two matches to claim the series, and India (five points) still requiring another two wins.

Australia XI: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Ashleigh Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Hannah Darlington, Tayla Vlaeminck

India XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh 

CommBank Series v India

Australia lead India 7-5 on points

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh.

First ODI:Australia won by nine wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by five wickets

Third ODI: India won by two wickets

One-off Test: Match drawn

Oct 7: No result

Oct 9: Second T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 10: Third T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast