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Sydney, Feb 21: Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav bowled a magical spell in her comeback game to steer India to a comfortable 17-run win over defending champions Australia in the opening match of the Women's T20 World Cup on Friday.

Put in to bat, India struggled to a below par 132 before Poonam (4/19 in 4 overs) foxed the Aussies with her googlies, turning the match decisively into her team's favour.

Australia, who have won the competition four times in six editions, were all out for 115 in 19.5 overs

"A bowler like Poonam is someone who leads from the front. We were expecting a great comeback from her. Our team is looking nice, earlier we depended on two-three players," India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match.

Poonam, who missed the preceding tri-series due to a hand injury, also got good support from other bowlers including pacer Shikha Pandey.

The 28-year-old from Agra was on a hat-trick but narrowly missed out as wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia dropped a difficult chance.

The tournament-opener saw a record 13,000 plus attendance with a sizeable chunk supporting India.

India next play against Bangladesh in Perth on February 24.

"It was great for me to come back from injury and perform like this. It was the third time that I was on a hat-trick but satisfied that I was able to do the job for the team," said Poonam at the post-match presentation.

Australia were off to a good start to their chase with opener Alyssa Healy making a 35-ball 51, laced with six boundaries and a six.

However, Indian spinners led by Poonam triggered a collapse as Australia suddenly slipped to 82 for six.

Poonam (4/19) snapped four wickets, two in successive deliveries in the 12th over, to break the back of Australia's chase.

Ashleigh Gardner (34 off 36) tried her bit but didn't get any support from the other end.

Earlier, India squandered a flying start to end up with a below-par total.

Sixteen-year-old Shafali Verma took India to 40 for no loss in four overs with a typically aggressive 29 off 15 balls but her fall derailed the innings as the other batters disappointed.

Deepti Sharma made a composed 46-ball 49 in the second half of the innings but the firepower that India needed in the death overs was badly missing.

India were cruising initially with Shafali taking the opposition to the cleaners, hitting five fours and a six.

However, left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen (2/24) snapped two quick wickets, Smriti Mandhana (10 off 11) and Harmanpreet (2 off 5) to reduce India to 47 for three.

Deepti then shared 53 runs with Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 33) to bring up the 100 in the 16th over.

For Australia, Ellyse Perry (1/15) and Delissa Kimmince (1/24) were the other wicket-takers.

Bengaluru, May 27: Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has revealed that he was never able to dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq in the nets.

The Rawalpindi Express praised the former Pakistan skipper and said Inzamam could see the ball one second earlier than the rest of the batsmen could.

"Honestly, I don't think I could ever get him (Inzamam) out, he had the time and I always felt he saw the ball a second earlier than the rest of the batsmen because I had a complicated action unlike Brett Lee, I felt I could never dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I couldn't get him out in the nets, I think he could see the ball a second before anyone else," he added.

Inzamam played 120 Tests and 378 ODIs for Pakistan.

He finished his career with 20,569 runs across all formats.

The right-handed batsman called time on his career in 2007 and he played his last Test against South Africa in Lahore.

On the other hand, Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

The Rawalpindi Express last played an ODI in 2011 as he played against New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup.

Sydney, Mar 3: Former Australia pacer Brett Lee foresees a "different" looking India making their maiden T20 Women's World Cup final and attributed their rise to the emergence of star players like 16-year-old Shafali Verma.

Besides opener Shafali, experienced leg-spinner Poonam Yadav has been the other match-winner for India in the competition. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side topped the group stage with four wins in as many games and play their semifinal here on Thursday.

"They've never reached the final but this is a different India team from the one they’ve seen before. They've combined match-winners in Shafali Verma and Poonam Yadav with consistent players with both bat and ball," Lee was quoted as saying by ICC.

"We've always known they have some of the best players in the world but now Harmanpreet Kaur has a team around her that can support the big players, and fill in the gaps when they have an off day."

Only a special effort from their opponents can stop India from reaching their maiden final, feels Lee.

They'll go into the semi-finals full of confidence and it will take an excellent team to stop them from reaching the Final."

Talking more about Shafali, who has got 47, 46, 39, and 29 so far, Lee backed the teen sensation to make a bigger score in the semifinal.

"Shafali Verma has been excellent at the top of the order, she’s brought a fearless energy to India’s batting and been brilliant to watch.

"You feel she can go even bigger as well – she hasn't reached 50 yet, which is both exciting for those watching and worrying for the bowlers.

"We saw from the opener against Australia just how good India can be, and it’s no surprise they’ve continued that form to top Group A," he added.