The Indian women’s team suffered a narrow 5 runs loss in the first semi-finals against the mighty Australian team played at Newlands, Cape Town on 23 February 2023.
Indian bowlers began on a steady note by not allowing Healy and Beth Mooney to score quickly in the first six overs. The match ebbed and flowed from one end to another before the Women in Blue could not cross the line.
There were a few reasons that the Indian women’s team lost the semi-finals against Australia and could not make it to the finals.
Here we look at the 3 reasons why India lost the semi-finals against Australia:
Poor fielding and catching
The Indian fielding and catching was not up to the mark. Richa Ghosh dropped a tough chance to dismiss Australian captain Meg Lanning when she was on 1. She gave another reprieve he missed a stumping chance to dismiss Lanning.
Shafali Verma missed a simple chance to get rid of Beth Mooney at long-off. Apart from Jemimah Rodrigues, the other fielders conceded runs that helped the Australian team post 172 for 4 in 20 overs.
On the other hand, Australian fielding was not up to the mark in the early stages but stepped up when Ellyse Perry saved a certain boundary while Tahila McGrath also made a great boundary in the final over that helped the Australian team seal a 5-run win to qualify for the grand finale.
Harmanpreet Kaur run out
Chasing down 173 runs to win, the Indian team lost 3 early wickets of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and Yastika Bhatia. Harmanpreet Kaur looked in great touch putting pressure on the Australian bowlers along with Jemimah Rodrigues.
Kaur and Rodrigues kept the momentum going to be on course for a famous win. After the wicket of Rodrigues, Kaur showed her intent and completed a half-century. Things looked in control for India before a bizarre run-out happened as the captain was going for 2nd run when the bat stick and fell short of the crease.
Kaur was dismissed for 52 which changed the momentum of the game in favour of Australia. It was one of the best innings by an Indian captain who looked doubtful for this encounter due to illness.
Lack of Power-hitters
After the fall of Harmanpreet Kaur’s important wicket, India looked comfortable with 39 runs required off 30 deliveries. Richa Ghosh did not contribute as she was dismissed trying to hit a big shot caught at the boundary.
Deepti Sharma could not hit boundaries at regular intervals along with Sneha Rana. With 20 runs required off the final 2 overs, Sneha Rana was dismissed in the 19th over by Jess Jonassen.
Deepti Sharma could not clear the ropes which significantly impacted the outcome. On the other hand, Ash Gardner provided the impetus with a quickfire 31 off 18 deliveries to change the momentum of the innings for Australia.
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