India’s unbeaten run at the Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup came to an end with a seven-wicket thrashing by Australia in the Super Six leg at Potchefstroom on Saturday. The Indian batsmen, who had looked formidable in the tournament so far, were invited to bat and were blown away when Australia bowled them for a paltry 87 in 18.5 overs. India had managed to defend 97 against Australia in a warm-up match earlier this month, but the Shafali Verma-led side were unable to repeat the feat as the opponents raced to the finish with 37 balls to spare.
The loss has affected India’s net run rate (+1,905), which could play a vital role in deciding who qualifies for the semi-finals. The Women in Blue have fallen to second place behind Australia in the Super Six Group 1.
Australia, India, South Africa and Bangladesh all have four points, while Sri Lanka and the UAE have zero points.
It was a day when India’s strong batting line-up was clueless. After conceding some bounds, Milly Illingworth (2/12) got the prized Indian skipper’s wicket as Shafali (8) fell early again.
The Australian fast then struck in her next over, as Gongadi Trisha (4) rounded the ball and wicket-keeper Paris Hall did the rest.
The Australian bowlers were all over India with Sonia Mendhiya (2) crumbling under pressure.
With wickets falling as nine cones at the other end, Shweta Sehrawat (21) tried to ease the pressure by crossing a boundary and taking over with the dangerous Richa Ghosh (7) who also joined her with a four, but the keeper-batter was sent back two balls later to leave the hut and India on 43/4.
Sehrawat was dismissed for the first time in the tournament by Sianna Ginger who then claimed the wicket of Parshavi Chopra (8) and Mannat Kashyap (1) in her next two overs to finish with figures of 3 for 13.
With the top flight falling early, it was up to the middle order hitters to get some runs on the board in the crucial clash, but they also collapsed under the pressure as only three Indians managed to achieve double-digit scores .
In response, the Australians came out with all their guns and the Indian bowlers had no answer. They leaked runs before Titas Sadhu (1/13), Archana Devi (1/7) and Sonam Yadav (1/22) each took a wicket.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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