Tahlia McGrath was outstanding, wickets from her were important: Lanning

Adelaide [Australia], January 20 (ANI): Australia skipper Meg Lanning on Thursday hailed the impact of all-rounder Tahlia McGrath in the first T20I of the three-match series against England.
McGrath's all-round performance and Meg Lanning's spirited show with the bat helped Australia defeat England by nine wickets in the first T20I of the three-match series here at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
"Par score at the halfway mark. Pretty good wicket, so it's hard to defend. We were confident. Tahlia Mcgrath was outstanding. She was able to break that partnership, we were actually looking at 20-30 more runs. So those wickets from her were important in the end," Lanning said after the first T20I.
"I thought she (Alana King) bowled really well. We want her to play with that flair. I was pretty confident hitting the ball. Pretty good batting wicket, Nice to get runs today, hopefully, can continue this form," she added.
With this win, Australia has gained an early lead in the ongoing Women's Ashes and the second T20I will now be played on Saturday at the same venue. McGrath first took three wickets with the ball and then she backed it up by playing a 91-knock.
Chasing 170, Australia got off to a decent start as openers Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy put on 26 runs inside four overs, but this stand was cut short by Sophie Ecclestone as she dismissed Healy (7) and this brought Tahlia McGrath to the middle. Lanning and McGrath ensured that Australia does not lose momentum as they kept chipping away at runs, and the hosts needed 85 to win from the final ten overs with nine wickets in hand.
McGrath and Lanning kept on scoring runs, and as a result, England was not able to create any sort of pressure. In the end, the hosts registered a comfortable nine-wicket victory. In the end, McGrath and Lanning remained unbeaten on 91 and 64 respectively.
Earlier, Danielle Wyatt played a knock of 70 runs as England posted 169/4 in the allotted twenty overs. (ANI)