6 Runs is all that kept India away from a ticket to the World Cup Finals. They came so close yet again. Performances in the big-stage has been an area of concern for the Indian Team over the last decade, irrespective of Gender.

The Women’s team though would feel the weight of defeat largely as they continuously come close only to fall short. It has been a trend since 2017 as they now find themselves miss out in the Semi-Finals. Barring the 2020 World Cup Final, which saw India get hammered at a packed MCG and the 2018 World Cup Semi-Finals, India came too close before drama and misfortune took the game away. The side has been on an upward graph but below are instances of India falling short when they were commanding the game.

2017 World Cup Final vs England

India were playing their first World Cup final since 2005, and were on the biggest of stages as they took on England at Lords. The stage was set and with India beating Australia thanks to a commanding 171 from Harmanpreet Kaur in the Semi-Finals, the onus was truly on India. The bowlers did really well to restrict England to 228, leaving India in the drivers seat. The chase to looked very straightforward with Harmanpreet Kaur and Punam Raut cruising towards the target.

Raut’s wicket though opened the floodgates and it was all chaos after that. six wickets in hand and 37 to get in seven overs. The equation was very gettable. 40 deliveries later India were all-out. Shrubsole had five, and the Indian batters, could not make use of their advantage with some ugly swipes to the fielders, poor running and chaotic batting found them fall short by nine runs with an over to spare.

2022 World Cup Group Stage Match vs Australia

A series of heartbreaking defeats to Australia started in 2020. With Australia hammering India by 85 runs, they stamped their authority over the Indian Team and World Cricket in general. Coming into the 2022 World Cup, they were hot favorites having been the most consistent side in the lead-up. India though, like in 2020, were seen as the side with probably the best chances of beating Australia. The Indian line-up too found consistency, had experience and flair.

Unlike the Finals in 2020, India managed to compete. They put up runs on the board and with slow pitches in the World Cup, they looked favorites for some parts of the second innings with their range of spinners showing their quality. After a commanding start by Australia, and with Healy threatening to once again find space in the Indian Team’s minds, the game was moving away quick. However, wickets and some tight bowling quickly turned the table. The game was on a knifes edge as India managed to hold on. With 8 to win off the last over, India were suddenly back into the game, only for Moony to disappoint the Indians as she went after some lose deliveries from Jhulan Goswami in the 50th over.

2022 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal Match vs Australia

Batting first in the Gold Medal game, Australia had another chance to open up the wounds that were created in the 2020 World Cup Finals. With Alyssa Healy falling early though, India found themselves in with a chance as they kept Australia to 162, which was still a challenging score in a big game. With the ball though, India ensured Australia did not run away with the game.

With the bat however, drama prevailed again. Early wickets put Australia in front until a partnership between Jemimah Rodriguez and Harmanpreet Kaur kept India in the game. Kaur made another half-century and the pair were in complete control of the chase. With 50 needed of 36 balls and eight wickets in hand, Australia once again proved why they are an invincible side. From 118/2 India quickly slipped to 121/5 with both set batters gone. With no set-batters in the middle it was chaos once again. Three run-outs and lack of composure found India falling short by ten runs, finishing with a silver medal.

2023 T20 World Cup Semi-Finals vs Australia

The 2023 World Cup Semi-Finals followed a similar script to the Gold Medal match. India came in with some good cricket behind them. They did have some holes in the side, while Australia once again looked as commanding as ever. With Australia favorites, the heat was on. This time, India started well with the ball yet again. They had Australia struggling in the first half. However, with wickets in hand, and some poor death bowling, Australia made their way to 172, which is a daunting score in a World Cup knock-out fixture.

In Response, once again India lost early wickets, but a counter-attacking partnership from Jemimah Rodriguez and Harmanpreet Kaur kept India in the game. By the 15th over, India were hot favorites with 39 needed off just 30 deliveries. While taking a second though, Harmanpreet Kaur got out in a freakish manner as her bat got jammed, not allowing her to drag it into the crease. She was run-out while taking a comfortable two, and once again a collapse found India fall agonizingly short. Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana though briefly kept India in the hunt. Some extraordinary fielding and tight bowling though saw India miss out by a mere five runs.

The defeat could well go down as a classic World Cup fixture. There was fight from both sides, tough moments, and it ended with one side breathing a sigh of relief and another in tears as an exciting encounter came to a heartbreaking close for the Indian Team.