Women's T20 World Cup 2024: India suffer heartbreaking loss against Australia

India Women’s hard battle went in vain as they suffered a nine-run defeat against the six-time champions Australia Women in the crucial Group A match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. This result will hurt India Women, as their chance to qualify for the semi-finals will now completely depend on the result of the Pakistan Women vs New Zealand Women match. 

After Australia Women chose to bat first at Sharjah, the six-time champions scored 151/8 in 20 overs. In reply, India Women scored 142/9 in 20 overs.

Renuka Singh provided a strong start

While Renuka Singh provided a strong start for India by dismissing opener Beth Mooney (2) and Georgia Wareham (0) on two consecutive deliveries, another opener Grace Harris and stand-in captain Tahila McGrath handled the next overs very well.

Grace Harris and Tahila McGrath had a good partnership

Australia Women scored 37/2 at the end of the powerplay. Harris had a 62-run partnership with the stand-in skipper before McGrath was dismissed for 32 off 26 balls. Inside the next two overs, the opener Harris lost her wicket for 40 runs off 41 balls. 

Responsible Ellyse Perry

Ellyse Perry, the stand-in vice-captain, played a useful innings of 32 off 23 balls, which helped the Aussies reach the 150-run mark.

Among the Indian bowlers, Renuka Singh (2/24) and Deepti Sharma (2/28) took two wickets each. 

Shafali Verma provided a quick start

Opener Shafali Verma provided a firing start with 20 runs off 13 balls with the help of two fours and one six. In the fourth over, Ashleigh Gardner dismissed Verma. Another opener Smriti Mandhana (6) was dismissed cheaply by Sophie Molineux in the next over. India Women scored 41/2 at the end of the powerplay. 

Megan Schutt dismissed Jemimah Rodrigues for 16 runs as India Women were struggling at 47/3. 

Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma had a crucial partnership

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma then set an important partnership for the fourth wicket. They had a 63-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Although they were batting bravely, the required run rate was building huge pressure for the chasing team.

In the 16th over, Deepti was dismissed by Molineux for 29 runs off 25 balls (three fours), as the Indian captain had no solid partner to help her in the tight chasing. 

Captain had no support

Kaur scored two back-to-back 50s as she was not out on 54 off 42 balls with six fours. However, India Women were ultimately nine runs short of Australian women’s total. 

After scoring 14 runs in the 19th over, India Women required another 14 runs in the final over. India Women lost four wickets in the final over, including two run outs, and added only four runs.

Among the Aussie bowlers, Annabel Sutherland (2/22) and Sophie Molineux (2/32) bagged two wickets each. 

India Women's final hope 

With four out of four wins, Australia Women finished Group A as the points table leader and comfortably confirmed their semifinal place.

After this result, New Zealand Women will be happier. They need only a win against Pakistan Women to qualify for the semifinals. India Women can now only qualify for the semifinals if New Zealand Women lose against Pakistan Women. As India Women are already ahead of New Zealand Women in the net run rate, any kind of White Ferns' defeat will be enough for the India Women.