Bharath Ramaraj in Sharjah
Tahlia McGrath (32), Ellyse Perry (32) and the bowlers hogged the limelight as Australia registered a thrilling 9-run victory over India in a T20 World Cup game played in Sharjah. With this defeat, India’s chances of qualifying for the semi-finals hang by a thread.
The game had its share of ebbs and flows, with the fortunes of both sides swinging back and forth all the time. With three overs remaining, India required 40 runs. Harmanpreet Kaur, the India skipper, played a valiant hand to raise hopes of scripting a jailbreak.
She thwacked three boundaries off Gardner and Sophie Molineux respectively to bring the equation down to 14 off the last over. By then, Harmanpreet was gasping for breath. It was Annabel Sutherland who had the final say, however, giving away a mere four runs in the last over. Harmanpreet was mostly kept off strike, which didn’t help India’s cause.
In pursuit of a target of 152, India needed a quick start. Shafali Verma showed some intent, smacking Megan Schutt, Australia’s premier pacer, for a four and a six. Every single time Shafali played a stroke, there was a cacophony of sounds from the stands. For a moment, it even felt as if the sizeable crowd would provide enough motivation for the openers to come out on top against their fancied opponent. Unfortunately, in the very next over, Gardner removed Shafali.
Jemimah Rodrigues, who replaced her, took a few deliveries to get going. In fact, the crowd and the DJ once again played to the beat of the batter at the crease. The fans were rather quiet, and the DJ played a slow-moving song from a popular movie belonging to the 1990s – Saajan. A few minutes later, the mood again changed as Jemimah crunched a couple of sublime lofts down the ground. Suddenly, there were Mexican Waves in a stand or two.
Australia, though, rarely let India gain the ascendancy. Smriti Mandhana, who looked a bit out of sorts, was trapped in front by Molineux. The initial decision was not out but Australia got it overturned via the DRS. Gardner then judged a catch to perfection to send Jemimah back to the hut. Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet then kept India in the hunt.
Deepti tonked Molineux and Wareham for two fours. Kaur also joined the act by smashing Molineux to the backward square-leg boundary. Replays indicated that the shot was similar to the legendary Rohan Kanhai’s trademark falling sweep. But once again, Australia put the brakes on India’s effort, with Molineux dislodging Deepti. Richa Ghosh followed her back to the pavilion, with Phoebe Litchfield effecting a brilliant hit. Despite losing that wicket, Harmanpreet didn’t give up but she had too much to do in the end.
Earlier, Renuka Singh, the seamer, gave India a perfect start, dismissing both Beth Mooney and Georgia Wareham within the first three overs. However, McGrath, who captained the side in place of the injured Alyssa Healy, and Grace Harris didn’t just prop up the innings but also put Australia on course to reach a very good total.
McGrath used her reach to play strokes down the ground and also employed her wrists to nurdle it around the corner. For a tall batter, McGrath has exemplary footwork. Her batting partner was adept at bringing out the sweep. After the pair were dismissed, Perry and Litchfield (15 off 9 deliveries) made vital contributions.
There was a little bit of controversy surrounding Litchfield. The left-handed batter changed her stance to play the reverse-hit versus Deepti, but couldn’t connect. The original decision was out but the southpaw got it overturned via the DRS, with replays suggesting that it was pitching outside the line of leg stump. The rule says, “The definitions of leg side and off side will not change if a batsman changes his grip and reverses his stance after the bowler has begun his run-up.”
Interestingly, India’s spin trio – Deepti, Radha Yadav and Shreyanka Patil – bowled only ten overs between them on a track aiding the spinners. Deepti was the only to finish her quota of overs out of those three and took two for 28. Harmanpreet and India had to pay the price for that mistake. Meanwhile, the crux of Australia’s victory was their brilliant ground fielding and superlative catching. When Australia batted, their running between the wickets was also purposeful.
From here on, the only way India can qualify is if Pakistan defeat New Zealand, with India coming out on top via the NRR. If, as expected, India don’t progress to the last four, there would be question marks over Harmanpreet’s captaincy.
Brief scores: Australia 151/8 in 20 overs (Talia McGrath 32, Ellyse Perry 32; Renuka Singh 2-24) beat India 142/9 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 54*; Annabel Sutherland 2-22) by 9 runs.