Australia beat India to qualify for semi-finals

The Australian women's cricket team has secured a spot in the semifinals after defeating India by 9 runs. Meanwhile, India's chances of progressing in the World Cup have become extremely slim. They will now have to rely on the outcome of the Pakistan-New Zealand match for a faint possibility of advancing. However, it seems almost certain that the Indian women's team will exit the tournament at the group stage.

On Sunday at the Sharjah International Cricket Stadium, Australia won the toss and chose to bat first. They set a target of 151 runs, scoring 151 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. In response, India managed to score only 142 runs, losing 9 wickets.

Australia got off to a shaky start, losing two wickets early on to Renuka Singh, as both Beth Mooney and Georgia Wareham fell prey to her bowling. However, Grace Harris and Tahlia McGrath stabilized the innings with a 62-run partnership for the third wicket. Tahlia was dismissed for 32 runs off 26 balls, and shortly after, Grace Harris was out for 40 runs.

Ellyse Perry anchored the innings, contributing 32 runs off 23 balls. In the later stages, Leachfind and Annabel Sutherland scored 15 and 10 runs, respectively, bringing Australia's total to 151.

Chasing a target of 152 runs, India started decently, scoring 41 runs in the powerplay. Opener Shafali Verma scored 20 runs, while Jemimah Rodrigues was dismissed for 16 runs. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma tried to build the innings.

After Deepti was out for 29 runs, India's batting lineup crumbled like a house of cards. Although Harmanpreet held one end, she received little support from the other batsmen. In the final over, India needed 14 runs to win, but clever bowling by Annabel Sutherland restricted them to just 4 runs while losing 4 wickets.

Harmanpreet Kaur remained not out with 54 runs off 47 balls. Annabel Sutherland was the standout bowler for Australia, taking 2 wickets.