Mooney's calming words aid match-winner McGrath

Australia allrounder Tahlia McGrath didn't have to reach too far into the memory bank to find a situation she could draw on for confidence during last night's high-pressure run chase against India.

It had been a little more than two weeks since McGrath had made a career-best 74 in the second ODI of this multi-format series, an innings that helped rescue Australia from a dire predicament before they ultimately scrambled to a 26th ODI win.

And greeting her in the middle last night at Metricon Stadium was the familiar face of Beth Mooney – the hero of that incredible run chase in Mackay, and McGrath's partner through that game-changing 126-run partnership.

"One of the first things that 'Moons' said to me was, 'It's a lot easier position than we were in in that 50-over game'," the 25-year-old said. "When she put it like that, at that stage it was only a run a ball (needed) and we were making it a lot harder than it seemed.

"It was just keeping it really simple, and just backing my strengths, really. My game is getting on the front foot and playing straight, and that got me into the innings, and I got my confidence from there.

"I definitely took some confidence from the ODI series and even some Big Bash games in the past … and then (I've) just (tried) sticking to my strengths."

Adelaide Strikers fans will remember a similar performance from their star allrounder two summers ago, when their side had slipped to 2-13 chasing 116 against the Perth Scorchers, with Kiwi imports Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine both back in the pavilion.

From there, McGrath got down to business, building her innings nicely before exploding to finish unbeaten on 65 from 46 balls.

It was the sort of mature hand that would have appealed to national selectors as they monitored the progress of the South Australian, who had battled injury and form issues at different stages since winning her first ODI cap in November 2016.

McGrath had to wait almost five years from that point to earn a T20I debut, but the fact that two nights later, in her maiden T20I innings, she was able to replicate that kind of Big Bash performance augurs well for her future as Australia's number six.

"I was definitely disappointed when I got out in that second ODI, not to be there at the end," she said. "That's something we speak a lot about in this side – and Motty's pretty big on it – that the set batter has to be there not out at the end.

"It's a pretty big non-negotiable in our team, (that) when you're in and set you've got to be there at the end, so that was really important for me today. I didn't want to leave the job un-done so I was very happy with how it played out.

"It was pretty hard getting a taste of international cricket (in 2016) and then being on the outer for a while.

"Getting that initial taste made me that hungry to get back to the biggest stage, so for me it was (about) getting back to state cricket and working as hard as I could to try and contribute to both the Scorpions and the Strikers wherever I could.

"The Aussie team is the best side in the world so it's a very hard team to crack into, so I knew that when I got my chance, I'd have to take it with both hands.

"It was a long time coming, that T20 debut (on Thursday), so I was pretty happy to get that hat and then the rain sort of dampened the mood. So it's a pretty special win tonight, and extra special to wrap up the series."

CommBank Series v India

Australia lead India 9-5 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: Australia win by four wickets

Oct 10: Third T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast