Story Content

On the final day, February 21, 2026, the Indian women's cricket team made their unforgettable name in the record books, as they beat Australia by 17 runs in the third round of T20, securing the three-match series by 2-1. It is their first bilateral series of T20s to win on Australian soil since 2016, and they have not been beaten by the world champions in their homeland in a decade.

India, which had decided to bat first, had a resounding 176/6, which was anchored by a scorching 121-run stand between Smriti Mandhana (82 off 55 balls, 8 fours, 3 sixes) and Jemimah Rodrigues (59 off 46). The aggressive nature of Mandhana gave her the Player of the Month award, which was not an easy feat.

Australia made an early stumble in response, with several of her major wickets gone, such as Ellyse Perry on her 350th international appearance. Ashleigh Gardner battled heroically, scoring 57 out of 45, but Shreyanka Patil (3/22) and Shree Charani (3/32) destroyed the middle order. Australia was left at 159/9, losing a struggle even with a late comeback.

The series began with a 21-run DLS victory for India in the rainy conditions in Sydney and Australia's

19-run victory in Canberra. The visiting side of Harmanpreet Kaur was resilient and rich, and they dominated both with bat and ball to defeat Australia on their home soil with their first bilateral series loss in 9 years.

This historic moment is a confidence booster to India, as the multi-format series (which is currently up by 4-2 points) is almost complete and shows how fast women are developing cricket in India. The historic accomplishment was celebrated by fans and was seen as an assertive win against the mighty Aussies.