Australia beat India in a Thrilling T20 World Cup SF

Australia has secured their place in a seventh consecutive ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup final, after a hard-fought victory over India in the first semi-final at Newlands on Thursday afternoon.

The Australian ladies had been largely untested throughout the tournament, with their matches in the South African edition of the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup often looking like a walk in the park. However, the Southern Stars were finally put to the test in their semi-final and had to dig deep to secure their place in the final.

India’s mistakes come back to haunt them

India fought valiantly, but their sloppy fielding allowed Australia to post a daunting 172 for 4 in the allotted 20 overs.

In the chase, it seemed like Australia were going to roll the opposition over quite easily, as India were three down in as many overs. However, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues managed to get stuck in, and more importantly, get the runs flowing.

Together, the two managed to keep pace with the demanding scoring rate of nine runs to the over. Jemimah eventually had to depart for a well-played 24-ball 43, but that didn’t stop India’s momentum.

What did stop the momentum was captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s unfortunate dismissal. Her bat got stuck just in front of the popping crease and was run out. She would have comfortably made her ground had that not happened.

Where India was cruising toward a spot in the final, that wicket turned the fortunes back in Australia’s favour.

The match unfolded into a real nail-biter, with overs running out and the required 38 runs from 24 balls feeling out of reach, yet still gettable. However, it was a bridge too far. Australia kept their nerve, kept the bowling and fielding tight, and got themselves over the line.

A dominant grip over the world of cricket

Australia has only missed out on one final in the history if the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup. That was in the inaugural event in England. Since then, the Southern Stars have featured in every single final, and have been incredibly successful, winning all but one.

The one loss in 2016 when India hosted the event. The West Indies Women’s team managed to chase down an impressive 148 runs to take the title.

One More semifinal to go

The second semifinal in the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup will be decided between South Africa and England. That match will go down from 15h00 on Friday afternoon at Newlands.