India – Australia Clash

On Saturday, against Australia, Team India lost their second game in the group stage putting Team India hopes to make it to the Semi-finals under jeopardy.

Considered the Group of death (Group A) had India pitted with 2 strong teams, New Zealand and Australia along with Arch rivals Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

India- New Zealand Clash

Starting their campaign, India faced New Zealand in an important game in Group A. Both teams knew the importance of the clash. Winner of this match will have an advantage and a better breathing space later on when they face Australia, a stronger opponent in the group stage.

The girls from India were at the receiving end from the White ferns with the bowlers getting thrashed to all corners of the ground and New Zealand piled on a total of 160 runs for the loss of just 4 wickets.

During their chase, the much-hyped India batting line folded like a house of cards. Smriti Mandhana considered the best batter in the side, yet again flopped in a crucial fixture. Another player, Jemimah Rodrigues, a cat on a hot tin roof becomes a nervous wreck in important games.

The Indian batting capitulated and were all out for just 102 runs and the margin of loss was 58 runs. This brought India’s NRR down.

After relatively easy wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, NRR in the points table saw some much-needed correction for Team India.

Due to the opening match loss, the Australia clash became a must-win clash for Team India.

As expected, the match was a well fought one.

 But missed opportunities, dropped catches and stumping miss costed India the match and led to a nine-run defeat.

The Indian team delivered a lacklustre performance on the field

India dropped as many as three catches, while also missing a close LBW decision.

Australia posted a total of 151/8. In response, India fell short of the target by 9 runs with only skipper Harmanpreet showing some fight with an unbeaten 54 runs with Deepti Sharma (29).