ICC, Women, T20 World Cup, India Women's Cricket Team. ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, India vs Australia, Semi-Final Hopes

India lost its critical encounter against Australia on Sunday, October 14 in the Women’s T20 cricket World Cup at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE. In a nail-biting contest, India finally succumbed to Australia’s persistence and on-field competitiveness. With this loss, India’s hope to secure a spot in the competition’s Semi-Finals looks bleak. With the outcome of this match, India’s tally of losses to Australia is now five out of seven last encounters in Women’s T20 World Cup history.

Batting first, Australia scored 151 runs with the loss of 8 wickets. Australia set the target backed by Grace Harris’s 40 runs and Tahlia McGrath and Ellyse Perry each contributing 32 runs. India’s bowling, although not exceptional showed some promise. Renuka Singh and Deepti Sharma each grabbed two wickets, while Shreyanka Patil, Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav took one each. India’s batting was characterized by struggle in the initial part of the innings. They lost the key wicket of Smriti Mandhana early on in the innings, who was able to score just 8 runs. However, Deepti Sharma and skipper Harmanpreer Kaur put up a valiant fight and were able to provide some anchor to the chase keeping India in contention for a victory. Despite their efforts, the match took a dramatic twist when India lost four wickets in the last over and resulted in a defeat by 9 runs. India’s final score stood at 142 for the fall of 9 wickets.

 

 

For her outstanding bowling performance and bagging two wickets that resulted in Australia’s victory, Sophie Molineux was awarded the Player of the Match.

With this encounter resulting in a defeat, India will now have to bank on the “Pakistan vs New Zealand” match for a spot in the semis. India would need Pakistan to defeat New Zealand. In case New Zealand secures a victory, India’s hopes are quashed and they will have to pack their bags homewards.