The match in a tweet: That's a wrap! India and wet weather have poured cold water on the Southern Stars’ hopes of keeping this series alive, the tourists claiming an historic 10-wicket win at the MCG.
The heroes: India captain Mithali Raj and fellow opener Smriti Mandhana continued to display the freedom the India had shown with the bat in Adelaide, targeting the usually economical Rene Farrell. They plundered 17 runs from Farrell's first two overs and also took a likely to Holly Ferling's bowling, scoring 15 off her first 11 balls, ensuring the tourists had their noses in front of the par score when rain stopped play after 7.5 overs, and only needed 14 runs off 13 balls when play did resume and Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculations came into play. Raj finished with 37 from 33 balls and Mandhana 22 from 24, seeing India through to a 10-wicket win with five balls to spare. Fittingly, Raj scored the winning boundary that sealed a historic series win.
The consolation effort: The Southern Stars were looking shaky at 3-33, but as so often happens, Meg Lanning stepped up to rescue her team. After a cautious start the skipper hit the accelerator, putting on an excellent display including two big sixes. Her innings propelled Australia to 3-103 in the 14th over.
The turning point: Meg Lanning's 49 from 40 balls had put Australia on track for a heftier total, but her unlucky run out at the non-strikers end in the 14th over prompted a collapse which saw the Southern Stars lose 5-10 in the space of 14 balls. There aren't many ways to remove Lanning in that sort of mood but India found a way through a huge piece of luck when the captain was on 49, Harmanpreet Kaur getting a fingertip to a Jess Jonassen straight drive to catch Lanning out of her crease at the non-strikers end.
The support cast: Jhulan Goswami caused plenty of problems for Australia in the first T20 and she continued that today, taking two huge wickets in Grace Harris and Beth Mooney early in the Southern Stars innings. Harmanpreet Kaur chipped in with a very handy cameo, taking 1-2 from one over, picking up the key wicket of allrounder Jess Jonassen who was looking threatening.
The debutante: Lauren Cheatle is just 17 years old and still in high school, but the left-arm quick found herself handed her maiden international cap by WACA Chief Executive Christina Matthews before the start of play. She forced her way into the Australian squad through her excellent bowling for the Lend Lease NSW Breakers and the Sydney Thunder and while she only had the chance to bowl two overs in the rain-shortened match, they were good ones, leaking just nine runs.
The wicket: An outstanding piece of fielding from Anuja Patil sent the newly crowned Belinda Clark Award winner Ellyse Perry back to the sheds, run out for just four runs, leaving the Southern Stars in trouble at 3-33.
The stat: This is India's first T20I series win over the Southern Stars and their third win from 11 matches between the teams.
What it all means: Both teams now make the trip to Sydney for game three at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday, with the Southern Stars looking to grab a consolation victory and avoid a series whitewash. Australia are keen to try out different combinations with their eyes on the longer-term prize of the World T20 trophy, so expect some more changes to the line-up.
