India crash out of Women’s T20 World Cup after six-wicket defeat to clinical Australia
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "India crash out of Women’s T20 World Cup after six-wicket defeat to clinical Australia")
India crash out of Women’s T20 World Cup after six-wicket defeat to Australia Photograph: (X/@ICC)
India crash out of the Women's T20 World Cup after a crushing 6-wicket loss to clinical Australia at Lord's despite Harmanpreet Kaur's rapid 56.
The Indian women’s cricket team suffered a six-wicket loss at the hands of the mighty Australians in their must-win Women’s T20 World Cup match at Lord’s on Sunday (Jun 28). Needing a win to qualify for the semifinal, the Indian women’s team fell behind as Australia chased down 171 with six wickets and as many balls to spare. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s 27-ball 56 went in vain as fifties from Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner ensured they maintained their winning streak. From Group 1, Australia and South Africa have advanced to the last four of the Women’s WC in England.
India batted first after winning the toss. Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma added 66 for the first wicket before Sophie Molineux struck gold by dismissing the youngster on 34. Jemimah Rodrigues walked in next and scored as many runs. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur joined her soon after, following Mandhana’s dismissal on almost run-a-ball 38, adding 64 runs for the third wicket.
Harmanpreet was the player in form for her team, as she completed a quickfire fifty, scoring 56 off 27 balls, including three sixes and six fours. Despite the top order coming in handy on the day when it mattered the most, India posted a fighting total of 170 for four in 20 overs.
“End of the day, we got a decent total on the board. In between when I was batting, I thought we were a little short, but the last couple of overs did the job. They were looking for the runs but couldn't do so (the batters who struggled today),” Harmanpreet reflected on her team’s showing in the first innings.
Australia lost a wicket early in Georgia Voll and two more quickly before the 10th over as their scorecard read 68 for three.
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Needing more than 100 runs to win, with close to 10 overs left, veteran Perry and all-rounder Gardner struck a brilliant partnership to first bail the team out of trouble, and secondly, help them complete the run chase without many hiccups.
The seasoned pair added 100 runs for the fourth wicket before Perry departed on a match-winning 56 off 38 balls. Georgia Wareham wrapped up the formalities with a four, as Australia completed the highest-ever run chase in the Women’s T20 World Cup.
“Just an incredible atmosphere and amazing support from the crowd. The opportunity to play here at Lord's against India in an amazing game, the battle... so, yeah, a really special day for everyone,” the Player of the Match, Perry said.
