Cape Town: India wilted under the pressure of a knock-out game yet again after skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s freak run out as defending champions Australia entered their seventh successive Women’s T20 World Cup final with a five-run win here on Thursday.
India’s shoddy fielding and catching allowed Australia to post a challenging 172 for four after Meg Lanning opted to bat in the semifinal.
At 28 for three, India were down and out but Harmanpreet (52 off 34) and Jemimah Rodrigues (43 off 24) produced a counter-attacking 69-run stand off just 41 balls to bring the team back in the game.
India needed a very gettable 39 off last 30 balls with five wickets in hand but as it has been the case in the past, the team came up short to finish at 167 for eight.
India had lost to five-time champions Australia in the previous World Cup final and more recently in the CWG final last year.
Another loss in a knock out game extended India’s long wait for a world title.
Despite losing the destructive Shafali Verma and star batter Smriti Mandhana cheaply, Jemimah and India skipper ensured boundaries.
Harmanpreet, who was a doubtful starter for the do-or-die game due to high fever, got going with a crisp six over long on off Jess Jonassen.
Rodrigues looked in sublime touch from the get go, dispatching Ashleigh Gardner for consecutive fours off her first two balls. Her inside out lofted drives over extra cover off the spinners was the highlight of her innings.
At 93 for three in 10 overs, India were very much on course for a famous win. Jemimah and Harmanpreet’s omnious stand ended when the former tried to a guide a slow bouncer Darcie Brown but ended up edging it to the wicketkeeper.
Harmanpreet, who is known to bring out her best against the Aussies, looked at her vintage best with her sizzling strokeplay. Like Jemimah, she too made good use of her feet to get the fours.
She got to her fifty with back-to-back fours off Wareham in the 15th over before a freak run out brought another twist in the game.
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