India’s Women’s T20 World Cup team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, has qualified for their third consecutive semi-final in the tournament after beating Ireland in a rain-affected match. Despite losing wickets early in the game, opener Smriti Mandhana’s brilliant knock of 87 runs in 56 deliveries helped India to post a challenging total of 155 runs on a sluggish surface. However, India’s middle-order collapsed, which almost cost them the game. Nevertheless, they managed to scrape through to the semi-finals by defeating Ireland by five runs via the D/L method.
India’s next match in the tournament will be against the defending champions, Australia, whom they have faced several times in the past and have often proven to be a hurdle too big for the Indian team. Nevertheless, Harmanpreet Kaur is confident that her players will rise to the occasion and give their best against the formidable Australian team.
Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Kaur expressed her satisfaction with the team’s performance and praised Mandhana for her excellent innings. She also emphasized the importance of spending time in the middle and taking the team to a good total. Kaur labelled their next game against Australia as a ‘do or die’ contest and pledged to give their 100% against the defending champions.
With the knockout stage now underway, India will be looking to put their best foot forward and aim to lift the T20 World Cup trophy for the first time in their history.
