Follow the score and updates of the India vs Australia, ICC Women's T20 World Cup match here
2023 all over again for IND-W....India in the semi-final saw Harmanpreet Kaur score a fifty and lose and that has repeated again, albeit in a group game. AUS-W bowlers and fielders should be patting each other's backs as they were brilliant in the outfield. India did their part in the game but just cannot breakthrough in the crucial moments.
IND-W 142/9 (20 Overs)
AUS-W 151/8 (20 Overs)
Australia Women Squad: Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy(w/c), Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Wareham, Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown, Alana King, Grace Harris, Kim Garth, Heather Graham
India Women Squad: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Sajeevan Sajana, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh, Yastika Bhatia, Dayalan Hemalatha, Radha Yadav, Pooja Vastrakar
AUS-W skipper Alyssa Healy was injured in the game against PAK-W and it remains to be seen whether the wicketkeeper-batter will play tonight. If she does not make it to the playing XI, expect Tahila McGrath to lead the side out.
And it seems Healy won't play tonight, given she entered the stadium on crutches.
"For us tomorrow's game is important and we'll try to play our best cricket. [What happens when] New Zealand and Pakistan play after us is not in our hands. And we don't even want to discuss those things. We just want to keep things simple and just focus on tomorrow's game." - Captain Harmanpreet Kaur insists India are focussed on the Australian game.
Australia women have won the toss and elected to bat first. Check the Playing XIs:
Australia Women (Playing XI): Beth Mooney(w), Grace Harris, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath(c), Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown
India Women (Playing XI): Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh
The square boundaries are 59m and 63m respectively and the straight boundary is 73m. Not much grass on this suface as compared to Dubai, it's drier. The spinners are going to get turn. The spinners who bowl stump-to-stump will get the rewards here. The big shots haven't been easy to come over here. The primary target for the team batting first will be to score 140 and 20-30 more runs will be an added bonus, reckon Anjum Chopra and WV Raman in their pitch report
AUS-W have no Alyssa Healy at the top of the order but that's no issue for the reigning champions, as they have abundance of talent in their ranks. Grace Harris and Beth Mooney open the innings for Australia. Renuka Singh Thakur with the new ball.
AUS-W - 7/0 (1 Over)
Renuka Singh strikes yet again to dismiss the dangerous Beth Mooney in the first five overs of the game. The catch was taken by the excellent Radha Yadav, who sprung forward to take the catch as the ball was dipping on her. She follows with another blow, dismissing Georgia Wareham for 0.
AUS-W 18/2 (3 Overs)
A brilliant start for IND-W given by Renuka Singh, as she dismissed two AUS-W batters early on. India, who have to win this match, will look to dismiss the Australians for a reasonable target, given the quality the latter have in their ranks.
AUS-W 30/2 (5 Overs)
After a double-wicket blow, AUS-W have stabilised the innings much thanks to Grace Harris and stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath, who have hit the bad balls away as they keep the scoreboard ticking. India must find a way to sneak wickets or else they would find themselves chasing the game.
AUS-W 52/2 (8 Overs)
Grace Harris and Tahlia McGrath have built an unbeaten 48-run stand for the third-wicket and are looking strong at the crease. That Deepti Sharma-chance was a golden opportunity but IND-W did not take their chance. Australians are 6.5 rpo and this could get messy for India, unless they strike in middle-overs.
AUS-W 65/2 (10 Overs)
Radha Yadav counted herself unlucky when she saw her skipper Harmanpreet Kaur put down a catch. But the left-arm spinner came back with a gem of a ball to dismiss Tahlia McGrath of the following delivery as Australia lost their third wicket.
AUS-W 80/3 (12 Overs)
Deepti Sharma dismissed the in-form Grace Harris (41) as India women fought back in the contest. Just as one thought that the Aussies will run away with the innings, India came back to dismiss the set batters at the crease.
AUS-W 95/4 (14 Overs)
AUS-W are crumbling in Sharjah and how! In the space of four overs, they have lost three wickets as IND-W made great comeback in the contest. Pooja Vastrakar bowled in short to Ashleigh Gardner, and the Aussie batter fell in for the trap as she hit in the air and safely in the hands of Radha Yadav.
AUS-W 101/5 (15 Overs)
Australia are reigning champions for a reason and it is showing with the quality in their ranks. Ellyse Perry, Phoebe Litchfield are toying with the Indian bowling as commentators on-air said, any score above 150-plus will be a tough task.
AUS-W 132/5 (18 Overs)
Australia have got 150+ score in Sharjah and they will fancy their chances against India. The Indian team are the first-ever to take 5-plus wickets against this Australian outfit in this World Cup. However, with the wicket slowing down, what will the strategy be for the IND-W batters. We will be back shortly.
AUS-W 151/8 (20 Overs)
Despite a strong score on the board, IND-W batters are not scared to go and hit the AUS-W bowlers as they have hit 25 runs off the first three overs to give them a rapid start in Sharjah.
IND-W 25/0 (3 Overs)
AUS-W 151/8 (20 Overs)
Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma were dismissed in the powerplay as AUS-W fought back in the contest. Just as IND-W were getting away with some boundaries, the Aussie spinners have tightened the screws yet again.
IND-W 41/2 (6 Overs)
AUS-W 151/8 (20 Overs)
Jemimah Rodrigues was the latest to fall for India after going for a pull off Megan Schutt but could not connect it well and ended up giving away her wicket. The hopes of the Indian team are now pinned on Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma.
IND-W 57/3 (8 Overs)
AUS-W 151/8 (20 Overs)
In the final ten overs, IND-W require 85 runs and have seven wickets in hand. Moreover, they have skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease and will need her to fire if India are to beat Australia in Sharjah tonight.
IND-W 67/3 (10 Overs)
AUS-W 151/8 (20 Overs)
Australia have become the first side to qualify for the semis.
Required Run Rate climbs for IND-W as AUS-W spinners spike up the pressure in the middle-overs. India's required run-rate is 9.12.
IND-W 79/3 (12 Overs)
AUS-W 151/8 (20 Overs)
Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma remain key for India as they require 53 runs in the final five overs to chase down the target. The pitch has slowed but the bowlers aren't able to grip the ball due to the dew in the outfield.
IND-W 99/3 (15 Overs)
AUS-W 151/8 (20 Overs)
Harmanpreet Kaur remains key as India require 14 runs to win this crucial game. What drama in Sharjah!
It was a really good game, India came out hard. It was a quality game and it went down to the wire. We wanted to stay calm, she did a great job too. When the pressure was on, we bounced back. It was very loud, I felt it was one-sided towards India. We said that we will talk loudly and look towards our leader. It's massive, any game against India, you can mark it down it's going to be a loud one. To get over the line and the fact that everyone chipped in, it's great.
I think their entire team contribute, they don't depend on one or two players, they have a lot of all-rounders who contribute. We also planned well and we were there in the game.
They didn't gave away easy runs and made it difficult. They are an experienced side. That is something that is not in your control. Radha bowled really well, she was in the game and she was fielding well. You need a character like that in the team who is always there. It was a chaseable total. When me and Deepti were batting, you couldn't hit a few lose ball.
Whatever was in our hands, we were trying to do that but that's something not in our control. If we had an opportunity to play another game, it would have been great. Whoever plays well, will qualify for the semis.
We want to win every game we play, India came really hard on us, the girls played really well and I'm proud of them. The whole team got around me, a lot of players in different roles today and they stepped up. It was a bit hard, it was skidding on at times and keeping low at others. We constantly talking about what's a par total. We know that we have a lot of depth and we can play with complete freedom. We have shuffled our batting order a few times. Maybe it will be a rest day tomorrow in Dubai and then we will focus on the job of hand.