Harmanpreet Kaur's 52 goes in vain as relentless Australia knocks India out of ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023
ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023: Australia put India to a severe test in the semis on Thursday, but the latter succumbed to the former's brilliance, as the Women in Blue were knocked out of its quest for its maiden ICC title.
FollowOn Thursday, it was an intense game of Twenty20 (T20) cricket between India and Australia in the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup semi-final at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town. However, the defending champion was too good to handle for the Women in Blue. The latter suffered a five-run defeat despite skipper Hamrmanpreet Kaur's inspirational knock of 52, thus ending their quest for their maiden International Cricket Council (ICC) event title.
Australia opted to bat after winning the toss, as openers Alyssa Healy (25) and Beth Mooney (52) put on a 52-run partnership before it was broken by orthodox spinner Radha Yadav in the eighth over. However, the Kangaroos hardly panicked, as Mooney and skipper Meg Lanning (49) added 36 more for the second wicket before the former departed in the 12th to medium-pacer Shikha Pandey.
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The Australians' relentlessness continued, as Lanning and Ashleigh Gardner (31) piled more pressure on the Indians with another effective 53-run partnership for the third wicket before off-spinner Deepti Sharma cleaned the latter in the 18th, and losing one more wicket thereon, the Aussies could manage an above-par total of 172/4.
Shikha clutched a couple of wickets for India, while Deepti was the most economical from her side. In reply, the Women in Blue began on an unsettled note, losing the top order for 28 by the fourth over of the PowerPlay. Then, Jemimah Rodrigues (43) and Harmanpreet added 69 for the fourth wicket, inspiring the side to come back into the chase.
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However, in the 11th, Jemimah fell to Darcie Brown. While Harmanpreet and Richa Ghosh (14) added 36 more for the fifth wicket, with the former bringing up her ninth T20I half-century, the former was unfortunately run out in the 15th. Consequently, it opened the floodgates for the Indians, failing to script productive partnerships and eventually falling short by five runs, losing eight wickets. While Gardner and Brown clasped a couple each, the latter was highly economical.
