AUS-W vs IND-W

That's it from us for today. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. Do join us for the first semifinal on 30th June when West Indies take on the mighty Australia. Until then, this is Bala and Sourabh signing off. Good night!

And so, India's tournament comes to an end, but the T20 World Cup still has plenty in store. The semifinal line-up is set. Australia, who have now steamrolled every opponent in the group stage, will face West Indies at The Oval on the 30th. Hosts England, meanwhile, will take on South Africa in the second semifinal on 2nd July.

India will look back on this game, and the campaign as a whole, with a deep sense of disappointment. Fielding will be the area that stings the most. The dropped catches against South Africa may well have proved the decisive factor in their failure to qualify for the knockouts, and the sloppiness was not limited to that game alone; both catching and outfielding remained well below par throughout the tournament.

Batting intent is another concern the skipper will be keen to address. Even today, 170 felt like a distant target for much of the innings, and had it not been for Harmanpreet's crucial late cameo, India could have found themselves in an even more difficult position.

Sophie Molineux (Australia captain): "There was a lot of discussion about the short boundary down the slope, especially with the wind. But I thought our bowlers did a really good job. There were a couple of expensive overs, but Luca (Lucy Hamilton) set the tone brilliantly at the start, and everyone contributed at different stages. Most importantly, I thought we used our cricket smarts really well. We've picked up early wickets consistently throughout the tournament. We didn't today, but we were still able to control them. We knew that even if we didn't strike early, we could pull things back, and I thought we did that between overs six and eleven. The key is to stay patient because the game can change very quickly. Pez (Ellyse Perry) brought everyone in and reminded us that 170 was definitely chaseable. She's someone whose actions speak louder than words, and she went out there with Ash and led from the front. It was great to see. They (Ellyse Perry & Ashleigh Gardner) batted beautifully. They used their experience and skills, targeted the shorter boundary, ran brilliantly between the wickets, and got all the little things right. Once they were set, they were able to express themselves in the latter stages. It was a crucial partnership, and it was fantastic to see those two put together such a big stand.

Harmanpreet Kaur (India captain): "While we were batting, I did feel we were a little short. But I thought the last over gave us a chance. Unfortunately, we didn't play well. More importantly, we haven't been playing well against the stronger teams, and I think that's something we really need to rethink. We were looking to accelerate, but unfortunately it didn't happen. Australia bowled really well and executed their plans perfectly. We didn't lose wickets, but at the same time we didn't score at the rate we expected. Looking at the tournament as a whole, I think we simply haven't played well against the better teams. As a group, we need to reassess what we have to do differently in those matches. I always feel that your best comes against the best teams, and Australia are one of the best in the world. They've always pushed us to raise our standards. Personally, it was a good innings, but unfortunately we couldn't get over the line today. Those dropped catches in the last match cost us. Today, I thought we stayed in the game for a long time and our catching was much better. But overall, we still didn't perform to our standards. As a group, we need to rethink a lot of things. As I said, we need to rethink how we approach games against the top teams. We've often been in the contest, but we've conceded too many runs in the closing overs, and when chasing, we haven't been able to score the runs we need. It's been happening for quite some time now. We have to reset, rethink our approach, and prepare well because we have some important tournaments coming up over the next few months. Hopefully, we'll come back stronger."

Ellyse Perry is the Player of the Match, 56 off 38 with the bat: (highest chase in the T20 WC) It has been a wonderful day, great atmosphere and support from the crowd. Pretty special to play here, against India. We have always had amazing battles. Appreciate all who came out in support. 

Saw the Indians bat. It was a good wicket, we just needed a good partnership to get a good platform for the back end. Ash was superb, she targetted the first two balls of the over and found the boundaries regularly with ease. It was so much fun batting with her. Think we bowled really well too, chased down a good total. Just a good game of cricket

(overall thoughts) Been a wonderful tournament so far. Every venue that we have played so far has been fantastic. The cricket that has been played has been very competitive. Hopefully two more big games to go for us, semi-final and final

05:44 p.m. local time (10:14 p.m. IST): Australia 172/4 (19 overs) beat India by 6 wickets

Ellyse Perry 56(38) | Ashleigh Gardner 53*(29)
Shree Charani 2/32 (4) | Deepti Sharma 1/31 (4)

Defending 170 against a batting lineup of Australia's calibre was never going to be straightforward. There were phases in the first half of the chase when India looked competitive, but the promise proved short-lived. After Georgia Voll fell early, Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield provided a steady foundation. However, they departed in quick succession giving a slight opening to the opposition. That was India's moment to seize, but the bowlers couldn't press home the advantage.

Ellyse Perry, once again, reminded everyone why she is a legend of the game. Combining with Ashleigh Gardner, she shifted the contest decisively in Australia's favour, the two putting on a breathtaking 100-run partnership off just 53 balls to take Australia to the cusp of victory. Perry fell in the penultimate over, but the game had long been beyond India's reach by then.

It felt, once again, like India were one bowler short. Harmanpreet showed little confidence in handing Kranti Gaud a second over after her first went for 12, and Radha Yadav proved equally expensive, conceding 24 runs across her two overs. The one genuine bright spot was Shree Charani, who stood out with two wickets and rounded off the group stage as the leading wicket-taker with 14 scalps across five games.

18.6 Shree Charani to Georgia Wareham, THAT IS THAT! Australia knock India out of the World Cup and march into the semi finals unbeaten. They did not qualify for the last-4 in 2024 but they are back where they belong. Wareham hits the winning runs, a smash past mid-off and seals the win for the former champions. Smiles all around for them, the South African team is in attendance too and they would be smiling from ear to ear too. On the other hand, glum faces in the Indian camp as the 50-over champs will exit the T20 WC in the group stage itself

Australia, South Africa, England and West Indies - we have our semi-finalists

18.4 Shree Charani to Ellyse Perry, OUT! Too little too late for India. Sree Charani extends her lead in the wicket-takers' list, nevermind. Wanted to finish it in one go, got beaten by the flight outside off and ended up chipping it high for the simplest of catches to Shafali at mid-off. No celebrations from India, understandably so

18.1 Shree Charani to Ellyse Perry, angled across on a fullish length outside off, driven away to deep cover point for one. Australia need only 4 now!

Australia are just a single hit away from victory now. What a partnership this has been from two experienced all rounders!

Shree Charani will bowl her final over. Just 5 runs required.