Australia skipper Meg Lanning led from the front with a brilliant unbeaten half century to guide her side to an eight-wicket win over India and seal their semi-finals spot in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 on Wednesday.
The Australians have now 10 points in their kitty from six outings and sit on top of the table while India are fourth on the ladder with 8 points from six matches.
The Indian eves now face a must-win situation in their final group tie against New Zealand on Saturday, to qualify for the last four stage of the tournament. Along with Australia, hosts England and South Africa have booked their place in the last four.
Put in to bat, India rode on a defiant century from opener Punam Raut (106 off 136 balls, 11*4) and skipper Mithali Raj’s 69 (off 114 balls, 4*4, 1*6) to post a below-par 227-run target which the Southern Stars chased down without much hiccups at the County Ground.
Punam and Mithali lifted India with a 157-run second wicket stand after a disastrous start but failed to continue the momentum in the later stages of the innings.
All-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur (23 off 22 balls, 1*4, 1*6) was the only other batswoman to reach the double-digits as the middle order comprising Veda Krishnamurthy (0), Sushma Verma (6) and Jhulan Goswami (2) failed to provide any substance to the total.
In reply, the Australians got off to a brilliant start with the opening duo of Nicole Bolton (36 off 48 balls, 6*4) and Beth Mooney (45 off 68 balls, 5*4) setting the tone with a 62-run stand.
Thereafter, Lanning (76 not out off 88 balls, 7*4, 1*6) and Ellyse Perry (60 not out off 67 balls, 8*4) held the innings together with a 124-run unbeaten stand for the third wicket to dent India’s hopes.
Perry also took two wickets with her gentle medium pace giving away 37 runs during the Indian innings.Meanwhile, England and South Africa won their respective matches to progress to the last four.
Credits : HindustanTimes
0 Comments