Twitter Reactions IND vs AUS: Australian women defeated Indian women in the T20 World Cup Semi-finals
Twitter Reactions IND vs AUS
Twitter Reactions IND vs AUS: Once the league rounds concluded, the action in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 shifted to the elimination stages, with India and Australia meeting in the first semi-final on February 23. Australia skipper Meg Lanning won the toss at Newlands in Cape Town and chose to set a target for India in the crucial match.
Australian openers Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney got off to a good start, putting India under strain. The Indian squad appeared pallid and sloppy on the field, as there were multiple misfields and catches lost, allowing Australia to take complete control.
After Mooney’s removal, Meg Lanning and Ashleigh Gardner advanced the innings with a 53-run stand off 36 balls. Gardner had a superb cameo of 31 off 18 balls before Deepti Sharma demolished her stumps, giving India their third strike.
After Australia achieved 172/4 in their allocated 20 overs, Lanning maintained her captain’s innings, remaining undefeated on 49 off 34 balls. Shikha Pandey was the highlight of the Indian bowlers, finishing her four-over session with scores of 2/32.
“Bowling the last over, my average heart-rate is probably like 190. That just shows the way we fight as a team, and that’s what we kind of spoke about in the huddle right at the end. We probably weren’t in a winning position and that’s when this team does best. When our backs are up against the wall, we find a way and we scrap really hard and that’s what we did today with the ball. I think we set up the game really well with the bat, probably missed a few with the ball but I think that fight we showed shows the character of this team.”
Ash Gardner
India got off to the worst possible start, when swashbuckling opener Shafali Verma was dismissed in the second over. Gardner trapped Smriti Mandhana in front of the stumps in the following over, exacerbating the situation. Yastika Bhatia was engaged in an unusual run out, leaving India reeling at 28/3.
With Indian supporters’ hopes dwindling all around, in-form batter Jemimah Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur injected new life into the game with a brilliant 69-run stand off 41 balls. Rodrigues was removed on 43 off 24 balls after failing to reach her half-century.
Harmanpreet kaur maintained her captain’s knock, scoring 52 off 34 balls before being run out. She left India on the verge of triumph, as they needed 40 points from 32 balls to win. The entering hitters gave it their all but came five runs shy of bringing their team home.
