Birmingham: Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur struck a breezy half-century to steer India to a decent 154 for 8 against Australia in the opening Group A game of the Commonwealth Games, here on Friday. Harmanpreet smashed 52 off 34 balls with eight fours and a six while opener Shafali Verma played an attacking knock of 48 off 33 balls.
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Smriti Mandhana (25 off 17 balls) also started well but couldn't convert that into a substantial knock. Left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen (4/22) was the pick of the Australian bowlers.
Brief Scores: India 154/8 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 52, Shafali Verma 48, Jess Jonassen 4/22) vs Australia.