Indian team knocked out of Women's T20 World Cup 2026.
Australia beat India by 6 wickets to enter the semi-finals.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur played a fiery knock of 56 runs in 27 balls.
Half-centuries from Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner secured the win for Australia.
London | The Indian team's journey in the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 has come to an end. In a crucial Group-A match at Lord's on Sunday, Australia defeated India by 6 wickets. With this victory, Australia secured its place in the semi-finals, while India was eliminated from the tournament.
Harmanpreet's Captain's Knock in Vain
After winning the toss and batting first, India scored 170 for 4, thanks to a brilliant half-century from captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Harmanpreet played an aggressive innings in the final overs.
She scored an explosive 56 runs off just 27 balls, including 6 fours and 3 sixes. Her innings helped the team post a respectable total.
Mandhana-Shafali's Slow Start
Earlier, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave the team a steady start. They added 66 runs for the first wicket in 9.1 overs, but the partnership was a bit slow for T20 standards.
Shafali scored 34 off 26 balls, while Mandhana was out for 38 off 37 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues also retired hurt after scoring 34. For Australia, captain Sophie Molineux took 2 wickets.
Perry-Gardner's Half-Centuries Snatched the Match
Chasing a target of 171, the Australian team did not have a good start, losing their first wicket at just 4 runs. The fall of wickets continued for a while.
But then Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner took charge. They forged a match-winning partnership of 100 runs for the fourth wicket in just 57 balls. This partnership completely took the game away from India.
This defeat has broken the hearts of millions of Indian fans; the team needs to work on its fielding and death-over bowling.
Bowling Failed to Impress
Perry scored 56 runs, while Gardner remained unbeaten on 53. Australia reached the target with 6 balls to spare. For India, Sri Charani took 2 wickets, while Deepti Sharma and Renuka Thakur got one wicket each.
With this loss, the Indian team's dream of winning the World Cup is once again shattered. From Group-A, Australia and South Africa have qualified for the semi-finals.
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