IND W vs AUS W: Harmanpreet Kaur's 50 in vain as India lose to Australia; will wait for New Zealand's result

Not the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 campaign India would have hoped for. After losing to New Zealand by 58 runs, they managed to win against Pakistan by 6 wickets and Sri Lanka by 82 runs. However, against the mighty Australia, they lost by 9 runs, putting their path to the semi-finals in jeopardy. The Women in Blue will now have to wait for the result of the game between Pakistan and New Zealand to see if they progress to the Top 4.

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Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur fought hard until the end, but it ended in vain at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. While Smriti Mandhana departed early for 6 off 12 balls, Shafali Verma hit some good shots before being dismissed for 20 off 13. After losing both openers in the Powerplay, Jemimah Rodrigues and Kaur formed a solid partnership until Kaur had to leave for 16 off 12.

Kaur and Deepti Sharma put up a strong front, but it wasn't enough, as Sharma had to walk back for 29 off 25. After that, all the batters fell like a pack of cards, with no one supporting Kaur, who remained not out at 54 off 47.

Earlier, Australia posted 151 runs on the board, losing 8 wickets in the process. Grace Harris at the top smashed 40 off 41, while Renuka Singh sent back Beth Mooney and Georgia Wareham in quick succession. Tahlia McGrath (32 off 26) and Ellyse Perry (32 off 23) added valuable scores, while Phoebe Litchfield (15 off 9) and Annabel Sutherland (10 off 6) helped push the score past 150.

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Both teams faced injury challenges. Australia was missing their captain, Alyssa Healy (acute right foot injury), and Tayla Vlaeminck (right shoulder dislocation). Meanwhile, the Women in Blue lost Asha Sobhana, who rolled her ankle while warming up just after the toss. Radha Yadav has been named as her replacement.

Teams:

Australia Women (Playing XI): Beth Mooney(w), Grace Harris, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath(c), Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown

India Women (Playing XI): Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur Singh

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