India may need a massive favour from arch-rivals Pakistan to keep their Women’s T20 World Cup hopes alive after going down to Australia in their final group game at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Spurred on by a partisan 16,000-capacity crowd as an Indian cricket team returned to the Sharjah Stadium for the first time in 24 years, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side fell short in their chase by nine runs.
Having won two games and with four points in the bag, India will have to wait for the outcome of the New Zealand versus Pakistan match in Dubai on Monday to learn their fate.
India are ahead of New Zealand on run rate but a win for the latter will secure their spot alongside Australia in the semi-finals. Pakistan too have a chance of going into the knockout stage if they win by 53 or more runs [after scoring 150].
Electing to bat first, Australia got off to a shaky start. Renuka Singh struck twice in two deliveries to reduce them to 17 for two in the third over.
Grace Harris and stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath (32) shared a 62-run stand for the third wicket before the latter charged down to Radha Yadav, missed it and Richa Gosh did the rest behind the wicket. Harris fell nine balls later for a top score of 40 off 41.
Ellyse Perry hit a cameo 23-ball 32 that included a couple of boundaries and one maximum.
Phoebe Litchfield (15 off nine) rounded off their inning by smashing Shreyanka Patel’s last ball over the deep midwicket fence for six as Australia put up 151 for eight.
It was a challenging total, and with Shafali Verma back in the hut after a 13-ball 20 and Smriti Mandhana (6) trapped in front, at 39 for two in 5.1 overs, the chase became ever harder for India.
They were three down for 47 when Kaur and Deepti Sharma (29) came together to put up a 63-run stand before the latter, going for a big hit, was caught by Wareham at the midwicket fence.
Kaur, with a splendid 47-ball 54 not out with six fours, kept the chase and the excitement alive by taking the equation to 14 from the last over.
Sutherland bowling the crucial final over, conceded three runs, grabbed a wicket and saw off two run outs as her side came home by nine runs to clinch their fourth win to top the group.
McGrath said they want to win every game they play but knew it was going to be a really big challenge for them on the night.
“They came really hard at us. I am just really proud of the group. We held our nerve at the end there,” she said.
“It wasn't only me. There were lots of players in different roles today. I thought everyone stepped up really well. [The pitch] was a tricky one. It was a little bit hard to assess.
“The ball was skidding on with a bit of pace. When you took the pace up, it was just holding and gripping a bit. We thought it slightly changed in the second innings.”
Kaur said the Australians have batters who can take the target of power play and react according to the situations.
“They don't have anything fixed. According to pitch, according to situation they can make a plan and play,” she said.
“We also planned really well. It's not like we were here and there. I think the difference between them is that they didn't give us easy runs.
“They have the experience. They have played so many World Cups together. I think that is something that always shows them that they are a great side.
“I think we did really well. We knew this was a difficult tournament. The only thing is, when Deepti and I were batting, that time we were not able to punish a few loose balls.
“We could have controlled the boundaries. I think we were still in the game. But then again, as we know their experience, they know how to win games like that. We have to learn from them.”
