Australia Women beat New Zealand Women by two wickets in the first T20I at North Sydney Oval on 18 October 2026, reaching 165/8 in 18.5 overs to chase down 163. New Zealand's Georgia Plimmer was named player of the match for an unbeaten 85 off 68 balls, but Ellyse Perry's 52 off 30 balls carried the hosts home with seven balls to spare.
How It Unfolded
Australia won the toss and chose to field. New Zealand made 162/2 from their 20 overs, with Plimmer hitting ten fours and a six and Maddy Green making an unbeaten 56 off 37 balls. Melie Kerr made 9. Annabel Sutherland (1/28) and Kim Garth (1/34) took the two wickets to fall.
Perry led Australia's reply with nine fours in her 52, and Beth Mooney made 38 off 25 balls before she was run out. Ashleigh Gardner added 23 off 17, while Sophie Molineux made 11 off five balls and Georgia Wareham 10 off seven. Jess Kerr kept New Zealand in the contest with 3/25 from her four overs, and Bree Illing, Rosemary Mair and Melie Kerr took a wicket each, but Australia reached the target at 165/8.
The Oracle's Call
The CricMind Oracle made Australia Women 91% favourites before the toss, with New Zealand Women at 9%, and the call was correct, though the finish was tighter than those numbers suggested. Australia were first in the Oracle's women's T20I ratings and New Zealand fourth, and Australia came in with home advantage and five straight wins. The full Oracle call lists every factor.
What's Next
Australia lead the series 1-0 with two matches to play, and on the Oracle's numbers they are overwhelming favourites to win it. The series hub follows both remaining matches and their calls.
Source: Scorecard and the Oracle call.