T20 World Cup: Australia edge India by 5 runs in Cape City thriller to achieve seventh straight closing | Cricket Information

Defending champions Australia are by means of to a seventh successive Ladies’s T20 World Cup closing after edging India by 5 runs in a Cape City thriller.

The Southern Stars might be aiming for a 3rd straight title and sixth total after they face both 2009 champions England or host nation South Africa in Sunday’s closing at Newlands.

Australia seemed on the right track for a primary semi-final exit since 2009 after Harmanpreet Kaur’s 32-ball fifty had left India requiring 41 from 34 balls with 4 wickets in hand in a chase of 173 – just for Harmanpreet to then be run out after her bat acquired caught within the pitch.

India finally completed on 167-8, with one other essential second coming within the penultimate over when Ellyse Perry’s beautiful one-handed cease at deep backward sq. denied Sneh Rana what seemed a sure boundary.

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They had been finally punished for errors within the subject, dropping Beth Mooney (54 off 37) when she had 34 and Australia captain Meg Lanning (49no off 34) when she was on only one.

Shafali Verma spilled Mooney at long-on, whereas wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh grassed Lanning as Australia posted 172-4, a rating pumped up by Lanning’s two sixes in an 18-run closing over.

England meet South Africa in Friday’s second semi-final, with protection starting on Sky Sports activities Cricket and Sky Sports activities Important Occasion at 12.30pm forward of the primary ball at 1pm.

Nervy Australia squeeze previous India at Newlands

Each England and South Africa could have observed twitchiness within the Australia ranks through the Southern Stars’ semi-final win, with India making a terrific fist of the chase after initially being lowered to 28-3 with Verma (9) and Smriti Mandhana (9) lbw and Yastika Bhatia (4) run out after an terrible mix-up with Jemimah Rodrigues (43 off 24).

Rodrigues and Harmanpreet (52 off 34) added 69 from 41 balls for the fourth wicket, a stand which featured some attractive aerial cowl drives from Rodrigues however ended when the identical participant tried to uppercut a bouncer from Darcie Brown wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy within the eleventh over.

Nonetheless, India continued to attain at above the required price as Harmanpreet went on to share a stand of 35 from 26 deliveries with Ghosh (14 off 17) and the Asian aspect had been 132-4 within the fifteenth as soon as Harmanpreet minimize and swept Georgia Wareham for successive fours to nail a tenth T20I fifty.

The sport’s essential second got here a couple of balls later with Harmanpreet wanting her floor on the wicketkeeper’s finish as Healy whipped off the bails after accumulating Ash Gardner’s highly effective throw from deep sq. – Harmanpreet visibly displaying her anger as she stormed off.

When Ghosh slashed Brown to long-on on the finish of the subsequent over, India’s hopes took one other enormous hit however they simply about stayed within the chase earlier than an ask of 16 from the ultimate over proved too powerful, with a final-ball 4 from Deepti Sharma (20no) solely decreasing the margin of defeat.

Australia had been suspect at occasions with the ball however punishing with the bat as Mooney, Healy (25 off 27), Lanning and Gardner (31 off 18) all contributed.

Mooney displayed very good footwork as she notched her seventeenth T20I fifty, sealing the milestone from 34 balls with a ramp over quick third, and shared a stand of 52 with opening companion Healy.

The left-hander was reprieved on 34 as Verma dropped the ball over the boundary, whereas Lanning edged the third ball she confronted behind just for Ghosh to grass the prospect up near the stumps.

Verma atoned for her error a contact by pouching Mooney at backward level however Australia plundered 73 runs from the ultimate overs with Gardner slamming 5 fours in her cameo and Lanning taking Renuka Singh Thakur aside within the twentieth over as she thumped two full tosses for six and and edged a 4, runs that turned out to be essential.

Lanning: One in every of our greatest wins

Australia captain Meg Lanning:

“To battle again from the place we had been in, it was top-of-the-line wins I have been concerned in. We did not play our greatest cricket however I used to be so pleased with the women.

“India had been coming onerous at us so we knew it was going to be onerous to defend and it got here all the way down to the wire. We acquired just a little little bit of luck with the Kaur wicket however we simply needed to grasp in there and we acquired over the road.”

Harmanpreet: India couldn’t have been unluckier

India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur:

“The way in which I acquired run out, you possibly can’t be unluckier. I’m comfortable we took this to the final ball. We fought on this event and performed actually good cricket and nonetheless acquired to the semi-finals. When it’s a must to win, it’s a must to take your possibilities. We are able to solely study from this.”

What’s subsequent?

England play South Africa in Friday’s second semi-final in Cape City (12.30pm on air forward of a 1pm begin) with Heather Knight’s workforce trying to make their fifth closing and hold their hopes of a second title alive. England or South Africa will then play Australia in Sunday’s closing on the identical venue.