India Women vs Australia Women, 18th Match, Group A - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

It was a humdinger of a game that we witnessed. India pushed Australia deep but as they say, the experience of being there in the big moments and winning those moments count - that's what the defending champions once again proved tonight. The defending champions have made it to the semis for the ninth straight time in a row. Tonight's result makes the last Group A encounter between Pakistan and New Zealand even more enticing. Along with India and New Zealand, Pakistan also have a slim chance of making it to the semis. Here's a scenario to throw some light on tomorrow's contest - India will qualify for the semis if Pakistan beat New Zealand tomorrow and here are the margins - by no more than 53 runs if they bat first; with no more than 9.1 overs remaining if they chase (assumption is of a first innings score of 150 in both cases). We hope you enjoyed our coverage. Join us for the crucial clash tomorrow between Pakistan and New Zealand from Dubai. Until next time, goodbye and cheers!

Tahlia McGrath | Australia stand-in captain: We want to win every game we play, India came really hard at us, the girls played really well and I'm proud of them. The whole team got around me, a lot of players in different roles today and they stepped up. It was a bit hard, it was skidding on at times and keeping low at other times. We constantly kept talking about what's a par total. We know that we have a lot of depth and we can play with complete freedom. We have shuffled our batting order a few times. When it got tight towards the end, I turned to Perry and picked her cricket brain. She is very calm and has a great understanding of the game. Maybe it will be a touristy day tomorrow in Dubai and then we will focus on the job at hand.

Harmanpreet Kaur | India captain: (On the difference between the two sides tonight) I think their entire team contribute, they don't depend on one or two players, they have a lot of all-rounders who contribute. We also planned well and we were there in the game. They didn't gave away easy runs and made it difficult. They are an experienced side. That is something that is not in your control, you have to always keep your playing eleven ready even when one or two player misses out. Radha bowled really well, she was in the game and she was fielding well. You need a character like that in the team who is always there. It was a chaseable total. When me and Deepti were batting, we couldn't hit a few loose balls. We can learn a lot from Australia. Whatever was in our hands, we were trying to do that but that's something not in our control. If we get the opportunity to play another game, that will be great. But otherwise, whoever deserves to be there, that team will be there.

Stats by Roshan Gede

Most runs for India in Women’s T20 WC
726 - Harmanpreet Kaur
726 - Mithali Raj
524 - Smriti Mandhana
407 - Jemimah Rodrigues
375 - Punam Raut

Consecutive 50-plus scores for IND-W in Women’s T20 WC
2 - Mithali Raj in 2018
2 - Smriti Mandhana in 2023
2 - Harmanpreet Kaur in 2024

Harmanpreet’s five 50-plus scores in Women’s T20 WC are the joint-most for India alongside Mithali Raj.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s innings
First 25 balls: 19 runs (SR: 76)
Last 22 balls: 35 runs (SR: 159.09)

Most consecutive wins in Women’s T20 WC
15* - Australia Women (2020-2024)
7 - Australia Women (2010-2012)
7 - England Women (2020-2023)
7 - West Indies Women (2016-2018)

Australia Women have qualified for the semi-finals in each of the nine editions of the Women’s T20 WC.

Dinesh Karthik is back and ready to take your questions! Send them in using #heyCB on X to be featured in our next episode.

Sophie Molineux | Player of the Match: It was a really good game, India came out hard. It was a quality game and it went down to the wire, we held on to our nerves. We wanted to stay calm and all the senior players stepped up. When the pressure was on, we bounced back. (On the crowd being loud) It was very loud, I felt it was one-sided towards India. We said that we will talk loudly and look towards our leader. It's massive (on making it to the semi-finals), any game against India, you can mark it down in the calendar that it's going to be a tight one. To get over the line and the fact that everyone chipped in, it's great.

21:31 Local Time, 17:31 GMT, 23:01 IST: Australia close out a game which India threatened to pull out from under their noses. Kaur fought till the end but Sutherland kept her away from the strike in the last over and Australia sneak home. That's why they are such serial winners and so hard to beat in women's cricket. All the important moments they grabbed hold of tonight. Shafali started off dangerously but Ash Gardner snuffed her out and they strangled the Indians in the middle-overs with them building up pressure and racking up the dots. Even Kaur failed to strike at over 100 during that phase. And when Deepti Sharma and Kaur hit a flurry of boundaries, Molineux forced the left-hander to find the deep fielder, hitting to the longest part of the fence. And then in the last over Sutherland did her job expertly nailing it full and keeping it on the stumps. Kaur battled hard but it was a target that was just out of her reach. Australia win four out of four and qualify for the semis, while India's fate now rests on tomorrow's game between Pakistan and New Zealand. A reminder that India's NRR is now over New Zealand's as they reached 139. Stay tuned for the presentation....

Sutherland to Renuka Singh, 1 run, short of length on leg-stump, Renuka Singh pulls to deep backward square leg and Australia win by 9 runs

Renuka Thakur Singh, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Sutherland to Radha Yadav, out Lbw!! Plumb LBW. Radha Yadav takes a review with her. Full and on middle, Radha Yadav initially was standing outside the leg stump as Sutherland ran in, then she comes back in line, heaves and misses, hit low on the pad and that's crashing low into the stumps. The review was taken since India had one. Three reds. Australia almost there. Radha Yadav lbw b Sutherland 0(1)

Sutherland to Radha Yadav, THATS OUT!! Lbw!!

Radha Yadav, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Sutherland to Shreyanka Patil, wide, out Shreyanka Patil Run Out!! The third ump takes a long time and rocks and rolls and zooms in, finally she gives it out. Nothing behind the line - not even a spike of the boot. A slower-ball goes wrong, down leg, Shreyanka Patil comes down the track to flick and misses, as soon as it went to Mooney, Kaur wanted a run, but Mooney collects the ball, threatens to throw to the bowler's end and Kaur retreats. Mooney runs all the way up to the stumps and Shreyanka Patil is unaware of what's happening, she has the right heel up in the air and Mooney takes the bails off. The third ump takes a lot of looks at all angles available to her and adjudges that nothing was behind the line. And it was not there too. Eventually the right call was made. Shreyanka Patil run out (Mooney) 0(0)

Sutherland to Shreyanka Patil, THATS OUT!! Run Out!!

What happened there? Mooney is confident of a run-out. It's a wide and it's sent upstairs. OUT.

12 off 2. Need two sixes.

Sutherland to Kaur, 1 run, very full on middle, Kaur makes room to drive wide of mid-off and it's just one

Shreyanka Patil, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Sutherland to Arundhati Reddy, out Arundhati Reddy Run Out!! Arundhati Reddy sacrifices herself. Very full outside the leg stump, Arundhati Reddy makes room to drive to extra-cover, straight to the fielder and Litchfield throws it on the bounce, next to the stumps and Sutherland has it easy. Arundhati did not dive and is caught short. But for India Kaur is on strike. Arundhati Reddy run out (Phoebe Litchfield/Sutherland) 0(1)

Sutherland to Arundhati Reddy, THATS OUT!! Run Out!!