Australia cruise to nine-run win over India amid injury struggles

In a tense match riddled with injuries and high stakes, Australia managed to edge out India by nine runs in the Women’s World Cup T20, leaving India’s semi-final ambitions hanging in the balance.

Almost 15,000 enthusiastic fans packed the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday for what turned out to be an unforgettable ‘injury derby’.

India’s troubles started even before the match started when spinner Asha Sobhana injured her knee just before the national anthems.

This unfortunate incident added to Australia’s challenges as their skipper Alyssa Healy was already limping on crutches with a foot injury, and they had also lost fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck to a dislocated shoulder.

These shortfalls in personnel were made up for by Australia’s fighting spirit, showing what separates champions from mere contenders.

Chasing a target of 152 runs on a tricky pitch, India started their innings cautiously.

Shafali Verma tried to speed up the scoring but was dismissed by Ashleigh Gardner.

Smriti Mandhana fell victim to RCB teammate Sophie Molineux’s left-arm spin on her first ball, leaving India in a precarious position 2 wickets down in the first overs.

Megan Schutt continued her impressive World Cup form, dismissing the dangerous Jemimah Rodrigues, who left India reeling at 3 wickets for just 24 runs.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma, however, fought back with a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket, bringing some hope to the Indian camp.

As the match progressed, both batsmen found it increasingly difficult to score as Australia tightened their grip on the match.

Despite a dropped catch that could have ended Deepti’s innings, he eventually fell to Molineux, who made amends for his earlier mistake.

Pooja Vastrakar’s brief stint at the crease provided Harmanpreet with much-needed support as the innings approached.

India needed 10 runs from the last two balls, but the mounting pressure proved too much, and they fell short.

Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first.

Tahlia McGrath aimed to put pressure on India with a challenging total.

The Australian innings got off to a shaky start, losing Beth Mooney and Georgia Wareham in quick succession.

McGrath was promoted up the batting order to stabilize the innings alongside Grace Harris, who had to adjust her aggressive style to build a strong partnership.

Despite several lifelines offered by the Indian fielders, including a dropped catch by Harmanpreet that dropped McGrath, Australia managed to muster a competitive score of 151.

Ellyse Perry contributed a quick 32 runs off 23 balls, while a late surge from Phoebe Litchfield helped lift Australia’s total beyond India’s reach.