India’s hopes of reaching the Women’s T20 World Cup semifinals suffered a setback after a narrow nine-run defeat to Australia in their final Group A match. Chasing a target of 152, India fell short, finishing at 142 for 9, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur leading the way with an unbeaten 54 off 47 balls. Deepti Sharma contributed 29, while Shafali Verma added 20.
Despite the loss, India remain in second place on the points table with two wins and two losses, but their net run rate has dropped to 0.322. Australia, on the other hand, became the first team from the group to advance to the last four with an unbeaten run, registering four wins in as many games.
India’s fate now hinges on Monday’s match between Pakistan and New Zealand. A win for Pakistan would pave the way for India to reach the semifinals. New Zealand, currently in third place with four points, will secure the last semifinal spot if they win against Pakistan.
If Pakistan triumphs, India, New Zealand, and Pakistan will all be tied with four points each. In this scenario, India will advance to the semifinals due to their superior net run rate (NRR). However, with a NRR of -0.488, Pakistan would need an extraordinary win to qualify for the semifinals alongside Australia from Group A.
India’s performance against Australia was a mixed bag. The bowlers restricted the defending champions to a manageable total, with Renuka Singh taking three wickets and Deepti Sharma claiming two. However, the batters struggled to build partnerships, with only Harmanpreet Kaur managing to score a half-century.
India will now have to rely on Pakistan to beat New Zealand in order to keep their semifinal hopes alive. If Pakistan wins, India will need to improve their net run rate in their final match against Ireland on Tuesday.
