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Lord’s, London: It’s the end of the road for India at the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup as they fail to qualify for the semi-final stage, falling to Australia by six wickets at a sold-out Lord’s Cricket Ground on Sunday, 28 June. Pinned down fielding followed by a storming partnership between Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner saw the chase through for the Aussies as they and South Africa went into the next round from Group A.
After a rugged game between South Africa and Bangladesh, Harmanpreet Kaur turned heads by putting India in to bat first on the same pitch. The expertise of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma helped India to ease into the slow track just as the sun broke through the London skies. Mandhana pushed her shots towards deep mid-wicket, down the iconic Lord’s slope which was even more in handy as the game was played on a pitch closer to the decline.
Verma still kept up her form, picking her moments to go big as the pair showcased a balanced approach to bring up their 50-run partnership. Aussie captain Sophie Molineux got her side the breakthrough on her very first ball, bowling Verma who lost her balance trying to swing big on 34. Then a moment of miscommunication and lack of awareness from Mandhana saw her get stranded running from the non-striker end, as she was run out by Lucy Hamilton throwing in from short third. Australia’s efforts in the field were phenomenal, making brilliant diving stops and displaying great positional acumen understanding the batters’ limits.
Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur were these batters, both looking to prove a point at this T20 World Cup. Kaur in particular showed much needed intent, going with a more carefree mindset and rolled back the years. Rodrigues also showed intent but in pockets as the death overs approached. Australia spread out their field in the leg and forced the two to play their stroke in the leg area, restricting the two to run between the wickets, an alarming issue given the Australian batting they would have to defend against.
After some sensational work in the field, the butterfingers bug hit Australia in the 19th over. Georgia Wareham let a pull from Rodrigues through her hand at deep square leg for six and then on the next ball, Nicola Carey put down the Mumbai batter running in from deep extra cover.
Rodrigues was however retired out on the next ball to give way to Richa Ghosh to get some ‘oomph’ into the innings. The ‘oomph’ instead came from Kaur who smashed Molineux for three consecutive sixes in the final over to complete her half century in 25 balls. After the three maximums, she was caught by Ellyse Perry at mid-off, ending her vintage knock at 56, as India got to a defendable 170/4.
Renuka Singh gave India a dream start with the ball by dismissing number T20I batter, Georgia Voll in the first over with an appealed LBW dismissal. The start did not bother Australia, as Beth Mooney and Litchfield coasted along. The tournament’s top wicket-taker, Shree Charani would unsurprisingly be the one to end that stand, right as it hit 50 runs. Litchfield came down the pitch trying to hit one into the pavilion, but instead fell for the bait, finding Mandhana at long off to head back on 34. Radha Yadav got her much needed moment of redemption, finally holding on to catch Mooney coming in from long on, giving Deepti Sharma the wicket.
While Yadav seemed to be back to her best in the field, the same could not be said about the rest. Lack of intent and misfields saw Perry and Ash Gardner slowly kill the high spirits at the stadium. It would only be a matter of time before the team’s spirit would also be hit. Poor lines with the ball and fading intensity saw Perry and Gardener walk away with the win, scoring 56 and 53 not out respectively. Australia won with six balls remaining and India will have to wait for their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup crown.
What we learned
Fielding, the grim reaper: A problem that plagued India throughout the competition, eventually killed their chances at this T20 World Cup. Whilst today catching was not the issue, the fine margin of fielding quality between the two sides was the defining factor. India just could not replicate the drive and strategy that Australia showed in their fielding. Half attempted dives and slow movement to cover gaps saw Australia put their relenting pressure with bat, as they did in the field with 110% sharpness.
Also obviously looking back further to the dropped chances in the South Africa defeat, which saw India finish behind the Proteas, it is safe to say it is the effort in the field that ended this T20 World Cup campaign. So, while India are champions of ODI cricket, there is still some way to go in the T20 format.
The best for a reason: Australia and World Cups is cricket’s most beloved love story, be it the men’s or women’s game. The Aussies were beaten by India down under for the first time ever in a T20I earlier in the year, thus many expected a fiercely close contest. But Australia showed why they have the most T20 World Cup titles, taking on India in all departments and shutting down the game in swift fashion.
Never did a moment come in this game where Australia felt as if they were under pressure, be it during India’s opening partnership, Kaur’s bombastic finish and being at a point where 90 was needed off 50 balls. So knowing this history, don’t be surprised to see Australia lift their seventh T20 World Cup title on July 5.
What they said
Indian head coach, Amol Muzumdar: (On whether batting first was the right call) “I think so. I thought at the halfway stage, 170, I thought it was a good score and I guess it was a par score on this pitch. So, what we did, we even got the momentum towards the end of the innings, and I think we carried it on the field as well. It’s just that, I think, at the end of the day, I think Australia were a better side than us.”
“I think we really have to rethink our strategy or our T20 game. We really need to put our heads around what combination we are going to play. Also, it didn’t help Shreyanka (Patil) not being there. Shreyanka was probably one of our strikers. So, it didn’t help her missing out on half of the tournament. We really missed her in this game today. I think she would have made a difference on that pitch and on this ground.”
Ellyse Perry, Australia: (On her side’s fielding strategy): “I think it’s a unique field with interesting dimensions. We certainly spoke about that prior to the game and then obviously managing left and right-hand batters as well.
“But I think I thought we bowled really well and kept the tempo of the game in our hands for a large proportion of our bowling innings. Obviously, there was a really strong finish at the back end in those last couple of overs but I think that gave us a good understanding that you could accelerate on that wicket. So yeah, I thought the bowlers did exceptionally well.”
(On Sophie Molineux’s captaincy) “She’s such a people person. She makes everyone laugh. She knows when to have fun, when to be serious and I think she just gives people a huge amount of belief and confidence in themselves. She makes sure that they’re heard all the time and valued for their contribution to the group.
I hope that comes across in the way that they’re playing because it’s been so much fun this tournament. It doesn’t guarantee you anything and we’ve hopefully got two more games to go, certainly at least one. But I think when you’re playing with that kind of enjoyment it creates an opportunity for a team to do some really good things.”
