Australia defeated England by seven wickets in the second T20I of the three-match series in the ongoing Women's Ashes on Sunday.
With this win, Australia have now gained a 12-2 lead in the series. The team had already secured the Ashes in the first T20I.
Chasing 122, openers Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney were able to stitch a brief partnership of 23 runs, but their stand was cut short by Katherine Brunt as she dismissed Healy (20) in the fourth over.
Mooney (9) and Ashleigh Gardner (1) also departed cheaply, reducing Australia to 35/3 in the seventh over. Skipper Meg Lanning and Elysse Perry joined each other in the middle and they mixed caution with aggression to take the team out of troubled waters.
The duo stitched together an unbeaten stand of 87 runs, taking the team over the line by seven wickets and with 13 balls to spare. Lanning and Perry remained unbeaten on 43 and 47 respectively.
Earlier, Australia displayed a spirited bowling performance to restrict England to just 121 runs in the allotted twenty overs.
England did not have an ideal start to their innings as they lost their first three wickets with just 40 runs on the board. Amy Jones (0), Delle Wyatt (9) and Natalie Sciver (8) all failed to leave an impression.
Tammy Beaumont and skipper Heather Knight put up a brief 38-run stand, but as soon as the partnership started to flourish, Jess Jonassen sent Beaumont (43) to the pavilion. Soon after Knight (17) was also dismissed by Georgia Wareham, reducing England to 80/5 in the 14th over.
England kept on losing wickets at regular wickets and as a result, the team just managed to go past the 120-run mark.
England and Australia next take on each other in the final T20I of the three-match series on July 31.
Brief Scores: Australia 122/3 (Elysse Perry 47*, Meg Lanning 43*, Sophie Ecclestone 1-18) defeat England 121/8 (Tammy Beaumont 43, Sophie Ecclestone 17, Georgia Wareham 2-22) by seven wickets.
( With inputs from ANI )
