Voll the centrepiece before Australia bowlers shine to level T20I series

India made a strong start to the chase after fighting back with the ball but but home side built pressure which brought a collapse

Tristan Lavalette

Feb 19, 2026, 8:21 AM • 5 hrs ago

Australia 163 for 5 (Voll 88, Mooney 46) beat India 144 for 9 (Harmanpreet 36, Gardner 3-22) by 19 runs

Georgia Voll whacked 88 before an under-pressure Australia defended superbly in a see-sawing second T20I at Manuka Oval to ensure Sophie Molineux celebrated her first win as captain.

It was a sigh of relief for Molineux after Australia came in facing scrutiny following a hefty loss in the rain-affected series-opener at the SCG.

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After being sent in to bat on a flat surface, Australia looked set for a score of 200 at 114 for 0 from 13 overs. Voll dominated a 128-run partnership with Beth Mooney, Australia's highest opening stand in a T20I against India surpassing Mooney and Alyssa Healy's 115-run stand in the 2020 World Cup final at the MCG.

But seamer Arundhati Reddy again proved a thorn as India rallied with the ball and the match appeared in the balance at the halfway point.

India were on track in their 164-run chase at 57 for 0 before Molineux stepped up with the ball and she also captained well to ensure Australia drew level in the series.

Australia had an unchanged XI meaning vice-captain Tahlia McGrath and veteran seamer Megan Schutt were once again overlooked.

The series-decider of the T20 leg of the multi-series format will be played on Saturday in Adelaide.

Voll ignites Australia's batting

Australia's batting-order was under the microscope after being bundled out at the SCG, with Phoebe Litchfield issuing a rally cry for the team to be more ruthless.

Voll resoundingly answered the call although initially struggled to find the middle of the bat with Australia's first boundary not struck until the third over. She put the foot down in the fifth over with a bludgeoning blow down the ground off allrounder Amanjot Kaur, who was India's only inclusion.

Voll targeted the straighter boundaries and she started to get on a roll after whacking the previously miserly Kranti Gaud for consecutive boundaries to round out the powerplay.

Voll scored 36 of Australia's 48 runs in the powerplay and it wasn't long before she raised her bat after notching a 31-ball half-century. She then hit Australia's first six of the series with a slog sweep off left-arm spinner Shree Charani that sailed over the deep midwicket boundary.

While Voll was in the mood, Mooney struggled to get going after not having much strike in the powerplay. She tried her best to match blows with Voll, but her timing was off although luck was on her side with several miscues not going to hand.

She did overtake Meg Lanning as Australia's leading run-scorer in T20I cricket before holing out to mid-on in the 15th over. Australia's momentum was lost when Voll hit to deep midwicket in the 17th over and they curiously did not promote big-hitters Ashleigh Gardner or Georgia Wareham as their innings fell away at the death.

Reddy backs up SCG heroics

It was always going to be difficult for Reddy to back up her game-changing performance with 4 for 22 in game one. But she once again performed well.

Much like in game one, Reddy entered after the powerplay and her first ball was smashed to the boundary by Voll. Reddy struggled with her line initially, but hit back superbly at the backend to help stymie Australia.

She claimed the wickets of Voll and Mooney before unfurling several superb yorkers in a brilliant effort in the penultimate over, where she was unlucky not to snare a couple of wickets.

She was well supported by Renuka Singh, who finished with 1 for 27 off four overs as India remarkably ended the innings with the momentum with Australia only managed 24 runs off the last four.

Molineux leads from the front

With India off to a flier in their chase, Molineux stepped up and produced a captain's effort by trapping Shafali Verma lbw for 29 in the 7th over. She later made a wise call after reviewing in the nick of time to overturn a caught behind decision after replays showed that Smriti Mandhana flicked down the leg side.

The game remained in the balance with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh combining for a 55-run partnership. But Australia remained unnerved and broke the game open after seamer Kim Garth dismissed Harmanpreet.

Molineux was all smiles after she collected a second wicket in the last over before celebrating her first win at the helm.

India collapse after flying start

There was fear that India's batters might be undercooked having only batted 5.1 overs in Sydney. But Shafali got India off to a flier with three crunching boundaries inside the opening two overs. She was joined by Mandhana, who hit a trio of classy boundaries against quick Darcie Brown in the fifth over.

Shafali brought up the 50-run opening stand in style with a boundary as India dominated the powerplay to reach 54 for 0. But for the second straight match she succumbed to Molineaux after reviewing an lbw decision in vain.

Harmanpreet and Ghosh gave India hope of sealing the T20I series but the tourists instead will leave Australia's capital city searching for answers after crumbling to lose 5 for 7 at the death.

Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth

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