Australia knock India out of T20 Women's World Cup and reach semis

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/OdGMnbwf/"]Australia[/a] maintained their flawless record in ‌the group stage, winning all five matches to finish top and advance to ‌the semi-finals, chasing down [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/india/pC4Vpx86/"]India[/a]’s target of 171 with an ‌over to spare.[/p][p]India had entered the match needing a victory to ‌progress after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-africa/A52vg00Q/"]South Africa[/a] boosted their own qualification chances with ‌a four-wicket win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bangladesh/ppqjUJVE/"]Bangladesh[/a] in a low-scoring game.[/p][p]Australia suffered an early setback when opener [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/voll-georgia/2ZsmCNAQ/"]Georgia Voll[/a] fell to the second ball of the ‌chase, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/perry-ellyse/vT985Mb7/"]Perry[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gardner-ashleigh/SpEMQWUF/"]Gardner[/a] steadied the ⁠innings with a 100-run partnership ‌for the fourth wicket.[/p][p]Perry made 56 off 38 deliveries before being dismissed ​by Shree Charani, while Gardner remained unbeaten on 53 from 29 balls to guide the chase home.[/p][p]"[b]We obviously ​got to see how India bat and knew it was a good wicket and just needed a good partnership[/b]," Perry, who ⁠was named the player ​of the match, said.[/p][p]"[b]Hopefully, two more big games to go. But focus will be on the semi-finals first[/b]."[/p][embed guid="f4eaea5a-bb8b-4d79-926d-c7e4ce573188" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvqo-q_V7P0" social-type="youtube" /][p]The result ended India’s hopes of securing their maiden ‌Women’s T20 World Cup title and completing a double after their triumph in the One-Day International World Cup last year.[/p][p]India had posted 170 for four, powered by captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kaur-harmanpreet/AsnxCBj0/"]Harmanpreet Kaur[/a]’s blistering 56 off 27 balls, including three sixes and six fours. Openers [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mandhana-smriti/pt6oJBHH/"]Smriti Mandhana[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verma-shafali/4brDIar4/"]Shafali Verma[/a] provided a solid platform with a 66-run stand, but the middle order struggled to maintain momentum.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rodrigues-jemimah/vcAKC9fo/"]Jemimah Rodrigues[/a] scored 34 off 28 balls before being retired out ‌in the closing stages, and Harmanpreet accelerated to lift India to ​their highest total against Australia in a Women’s T20 ‌World Cup match, though it proved insufficient.[/p][p]The defeat marked the second successive edition in which India have failed to reach the semi-finals, following their group-stage exit in 2024.[/p][p]Defending champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-zealand/6L5RoIh0/"]New Zealand[/a] were eliminated on Saturday after suffering a nine-wicket ⁠defeat by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/6ylAmvOm/"]England[/a]. Australia will ⁠face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/west-indies/CEl6lK8s/"]West Indies[/a] in ‌the semi-finals on Tuesday.[/p]