Courtesy: BCCI/X
In the all-important Women's T20 World Cup 2024 Group A clash at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the Indian cricket team lost by nine runs against Australia. While chasing the formidable target of 152 runs, India needed 14 off the last over with their captain Harmanpreet Kaur in the middle, but she and the lower order batters were unable in taking the team past the finishing line.
Batting first, Australia had a poor start as they lost two wickets for 17 runs in 2.5 overs. After that, Grace Harris and stand-in skipper Tahlia McGrath put up a partnership of 62 runs for the third wicket. McGrath got out after scoring 32(26) runs, while Harris scored a steady 40(41) runs. Ellyse Perry took charge in middle overs with a knock of 32 runs off 23 balls. Apart from that, Phoebe Litchfield (15* off 9) and Annbel Sutherland (10 off 6) gave finishing touches as Australia crossed the 150-run mark.
For India, Renuka Singh and Deepti Sharma took two wickets each, while Shreyanka Patil, Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav put 1-1 each in their bag.
Coming to chase the winning target, India lost their first wicket in the form of Shafali Verma (20 off 13) at the score of 26 runs in 3.3 overs. After a few overs, Smriti Mandhana also got out after scoring just 6 runs off 12 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues also lost her wicket after a good start with 16(12) scoring three boundaries.
Following that, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma took charge of the innings as the duo put up a partnership of 63 runs for the 4th wicket. Deepti got out in the 16th over after scoring 29(25) with three boundaries, keeping the Indian cricket team in the contest.
