Australia A 163 for 5 (Wilson 50, Mack 39, Ishaque 3-33) beat India A 158 for 6 (Punia 76) by five runs

In the chase India A could never quite completely get on top of the required rate but Punia and Tanuja Kanwar added 64 for the third wicket and they needed a further 64 from 33 balls when Kanwar was smartly stumped by Faltum as she advanced at Maitlan Brown.

With 28 runs coming off the 18th and 19th overs, India A entered the last needing 16, which captain Tahlia McGrath was able to defend despite conceding a boundary to Sayali Satghare.

Three overs later, Knott and Tess Flintoff fell in the space of three deliveries against Satghare and it appeared Australia A's innings could fade away. The next three overs brought just 16 runs, but Darke and Faltum timed their late surge well with the latter slotting away three consecutive boundaries at the start of the 20th.

The teams will return to Allan Border Field for the second match on Friday followed by the last T20 on Sunday. Three one-dayers then follow next week on Mackay before the tour concludes with a four-day game on the Gold Coast.