Once again, Harmanpreet Kaur stood in the way of Australia. She has been here before, of course. Sometimes successfully. Sometimes heartbreakingly short. After 18.5 overs, she was on 51 off 44 balls. Back-to-back half-centuries in two crunch matches with India’s campaign on the line. India needed 15 runs off 7 balls after Pooja Vastrakar dragged her captain for a second run. Harmanpreet was on her haunches, bent double, gasping for breath.
As long as she was there, India had hope. Even a struggling Harmanpreet Kaur, in all honesty, because she was unable to break free for the most part of her stay in the middle. In the end, the night ended in heartbreak for Harmanpreet and India. Chasing 152 to try and stay alive in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, India fell short by 9 runs.
The finish to the match summed up India’s campaign somewhat. With 12 needed off 2 balls, and Shreyanka Patil on strike, the match was perhaps already over. But Annabel Sutherland bowled a wide, and the Indian batters didn’t complete a single for a bye to put Harmanpreet back on strike. It might not have mattered even if the equation was 10 off 2 but India didn’t do enough to give themselves a chance.
Not doing enough to give themselves the best chance to win. Was the decision to not play any competitive match for 68 days before their opener in the T20 World Cup the right call? It left them rusty against New Zealand. And a massive defeat meant they kept playing catch up in a tough group. There was a lack of initiative against Pakistan.
In truth, India’s performance against Australia on the night was a pretty solid one. After Australia’s 151/8, India showed good intent at the start of the run-chase, and even stayed ahead of where their opponents were during their innings earlier around the halfway mark. After 15.1 overs, the teams were level on scores and India even had a couple of extra wickets in hand.
In the end it came down to the final flourish. Australia had the luxury to keep going hard because of the incredible depth and flexibility they possess in the batting line up. Phoebe Litchfield, one of the brightest talents in the game, batted at No 7.
India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur bats during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 match between India and Australia at Sharjah Stadium, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP/PTI)
Ellyse Perry dropped down to No.5 and still played a blinder while stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath proved to be a thorn in the Indian flesh once more after promoting herself to No.4. With the likes of Annabel Sutherland in the backend, they have the firepower to just keep pushing the pedal hard and not drive around in third gear to rebuild in case wickets fall.
India on the other hand, showed the right signs early on with Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues. But with Smriti Mandhana struggling for any fluency, and the top three falling early, Harmanpreet and Deepti Sharma decided to consolidate. India’s batting depth at this point is an illusion, and there are really only 5 or 6 reliable big scorers. It didn’t help that Harmanpreet, despite trying to break free, couldn’t find her timing right.
In the post-match chat, the Indian captain was asked what the difference between the two sides was. Intentionally or otherwise, she started listing out a variety of things that just signified how good this Aussie side is.
“Well, I think their entire team contributes. They are not dependent on one or two players,” Harmanpreet started. “They have so many all-rounders. They have batters who can take charge in the power play. And then later on they don’t have anything fixed. They can always make a new plan according to the situation and pitch.”
As she said, India indeed kept themselves in the game, but Australia’s sharpness on the field – even if it wasn’t their best night – meant the boundaries didn’t come frequently enough.
“I think the difference between them and us is also definitely their fielding. When Deepti and I were batting we weren’t able to utilize a few loose balls where we could have got those boundaries. They didn’t give us any easy runs and they were rushing the ball all the time. And their experience too. They have played so many World Cups together and have won also. They are a great side, they just know how to win these games. We can learn from them.”
McGrath came up with a one-line sum up the Aussie mindset: “Whoever is out there knows there is complete freedom and they can go hard.”
If the world thought the time was here to close the gap to Australia, at least for India, it wasn’t to be. They are not mathematically out of the tournament yet, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they got plenty of calculations wrong.
India bank on a Pakistan win
India are mathematically alive but depend on Pakistan to beat an in-form New Zealand… but not too heavily. With India’s NRR still above NZ, any sort of Pakistan win will eliminate White Ferms. For India’s NRR to remain above Pakistan these are the possible scenarios: if Pakistan are chasing 121, they must take at least 10.5 overs to do so. If Pakistan score 150, they must not win by more than 52 runs.
Brief Scores: Australia: 151 for 8 in 20 overs (Grace Harris 40; Renuka Singh 2/24, Deepti Sharma 2/28) bt India: 142 for 9 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 54 not out; Annabel Sutherland 2/22, Sophie Molineux 2/32).
