India vs Australia: Who won yesterday’s match in Women's T20 World Cup 2024?

Australia beat India by nine runs in yesterday's ICC Women's 2024 T20 World Cup match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. With the triumph, the defending champions confirmed a first-place finish in Group A, winning four out of four matches.

Batting first after winning the toss, the Aussies put up an impressive total of 151-8 on the board, aided by some rather sloppy fielding from the Indians. The Australians also put down a few catches, but their bowlers raised their game when it mattered the most and held India to 142-9.

The Women in Blue got off to a reasonable start in the chase as Shafali Verma (20 off 13) hit a few crucial boundaries. However, she perished to Ashleigh Gardner, dragging a tossed-up delivery to long-on. India suffered another major setback when vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (6) was trapped in front following a missed attempt to heave left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux.

Jemimah Rodrigues (16 off 12) looked good during her brief stay at the crease before pulling a short ball from Megan Schutt straight to the fielder at deep midwicket. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (54* off 47) and Deepti Sharma (29 off 25) lifted Team India, featuring in a defiant fourth-wicket stand of 63.

Deepti's departure, however, proved to the turning point in the game. The left-hander hit a full ball from Molineux to deep midwicket. Richa Ghosh (1) was then run out by a direct hit from Phoebe Litchfield.

Harmanpreet kept India in the hunt till the last over, but without any support. In an anti-climactic end, India lost four wickets in the last over as their skipper watched proceedings helplessly.

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Clinical Australia post challenging total on the board

Batting first, the Aussies lost Beth Mooney for 2 as she was brilliantly caught by Radha Yadav (last-minute replacement for injured Asha Sobhana) off Renuka Singh's bowling. The Indian pacer was on a hat-trick as Georgia Wareham (0) was trapped lbw with one that angled in.

Stand-in skipper Tahlia McGrath (32 off 26) and Grace Harris (40 off 41) then featured in a crucial third-wicket stand of 62. The seasoned Ellyse Perry contributed 32 off 23, while Litchfield (15* off 9) and Annabel Sutherland (10 off 6) also chipped in with handy cameos.

Litchfield slammed the last ball of the innings from Shreyanka Patil for a maximum over deep midwicket.

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Who was the Player of the Match in yesterday's India vs Australia Women's T20 World Cup 2024 match?

Harris top-scored for Australia with 40, while McGrath and Perry also played crucial knocks. With the ball, Molineux and Annabel Sutherland picked up two scalps each.

For India, pacer Renuka impressed with 2-24. All-rounder Deepti claimed 2-28 and also chipped in with the bat, while skipper Harmanpreet hit a valiant half-century.

Aussie left-arm spinner Molineux was named the Player of the Match for her figures of 2-32, claiming the big wickets of Mandhana and Deepti.