Australia knock India out of the Women’s T20 World Cup with a six-wicket chase at Lord’s

India set Australia 171 at Lord’s, watched Harmanpreet Kaur produce one of the innings of the tournament to get them there, and still walked off beaten and out. Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner ran down the target with an over to spare on Sunday, sealing a six-wicket win that carries Australia into the semi-finals and ends India’s hopes of a first Women’s T20 World Cup title for another edition.

It is a brutal way to go out, because for most of the night India looked like the side in control. They had runs on the board, momentum from a flying finish, and a packed Lord’s roaring them on. What they did not have was a way to stop Perry and Gardner once the two all-rounders settled in.

Harmanpreet drags India to a big total

Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave the innings its base, the pair finding the boundary often enough to keep India ahead of the rate through the powerplay. Shafali made 34 before Sophie Molineux bowled her, and Mandhana was run out for 38 after looking set, but the platform was there for someone to attack from.

Harmanpreet did exactly that. The India captain finished unbeaten on 56 from just 26 balls, saving her biggest hitting for the very end with three sixes in a row in the final over to haul India up to 170 for 4. Molineux was the pick of the Australian bowlers with 2 for 46, but on a quick outfield 170 felt like a total worth defending.

Perry and Gardner settle it

Australia lost a wicket early in the chase and, briefly, India had the opening they needed. It did not last. Perry, named player of the match for her 56 off 38 balls, and Gardner, who finished on 53 not out from 29, put on exactly 100 for the fourth wicket and took the game away in a hurry. By the time Georgia Wareham clipped the winning runs, Australia had reached 172 for 4 with an over still unused.

That partnership is the difference between these two sides at the moment. India can build a total and they can start a chase, but Australia keep finding the players who hold their nerve when a knockout-style game is in the balance. Perry has been doing it for the best part of two decades, and Gardner has grown into the same kind of finisher.

India out, Australia roll on

The result settles the group. Australia go through alongside South Africa, who won their own decider earlier, and India head home from a tournament they genuinely fancied. A semi-final against West Indies now awaits the Australians, who remain the team everyone else is chasing.

For India the questions are familiar ones. Harmanpreet, Mandhana and Shafali keep delivering with the bat, yet the side cannot quite find the bowling or the closing nous to turn strong positions into the win that matters. The wait for a maiden world title goes on, and on a night when their captain played a knock for the ages, that will sting more than most.

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