The saga of India women's cricket team crashing at the bigger stage continued when Harmanpreet Kaur's brigade succumbed to Australia by five runs in the Women's T20 World Cup semifinals on Thursday (February 23) which left India fans heartbroken. Right ahead of the high-octane clash it was India who were believed to be the only team who can beat the defending champions Australia. But Harmanpreet's dream to clinch their maiden ICC trophy yet agian dashed after Australia's brilliant comeback in the game. While chasing 173, India recovered well after reeling at 28/3, thanks to Harmanpreet's 52 off 34 and Jemimah's Rodrigues' 43 off 24. But just when India looked steady and on course of victory, Harmanpreet's bizarre runout pushed the Women in Blue on backfoot. There were more such follies which India batters committed during the match which cost them the T20 World Cup's final clash. Let's have a look at them.
Poor fielding and Dropped catches
One of the biggest reasons behind India's defeat was their patchy show while fielding and dropped catches. Australia skipper Meg Lanning, who went on to score a vital 49 off 34 balls, got a lifeline when she was at 1 as India's wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh dropped her catch off Sneh Rana's bowling.
Another catch was dropped in the following over, this time it was of Beth Mooney . Shafali Verma dropped Mooney's catch at long on off Radha Yadav's ball when she was at 32. She made the most of that lifeline and went on the score an instrumental 54 off 37 to help Australia post a winning total.
Patchy bowling in last overs
India, who lost the match by 5 runs, leaked 30 runs in the last two overs. Had they bowled well in those overs, the result of the game would have been landed in India's favour. In the last two overs, Team India had to score 20 runs which they failed to score. This target could have been a little less if Indian bowlers would have put up a bit more disciplined. But their inefficiency to control runs in death overs was brutally exposed which cost them the match.
Misfiring openers
A lot of onus was on the Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma while chasing Australia's daunting target of 173. But both of them misfired at the bigger stage and failed to give Indian a start which they needed as the duo was sent to pavilion cheaply. While Shafali scored mere 9 runs, Mandhana was sent packing after scoring just 2 runs.
Jemimah left Harman midway battling
If anyone who made the match for India, it was Jemimah, who came to the crease in the third over when the team had lost two wickets. Jemimah scored 43 off 24 with the help of six fours and steered India from precarious 15 to commanding 97. On 43, Jemimah went for a cut shot trying to uppercut Brown but ended up handing an easy catch to wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy. Till then India were well into the game, but Jemimah's dismissal left Harman battling all alone and Australia were once again into the game as they broke the much important partnership which earned them the match.
Harmanpreet's bizarre run out
Harmanpreet's bizarre run out at the crucial juncture of the match left Indian cricket fans heartbroken. Harmanpreet's run out on the fourth ball of the 15th over changed the face of the match and shifted the momentum in Australia's favour. India were steady at 132/4 and they needed more 40 runs in the next 32 balls. But on the fourth ball of the 15th over, Harmanpreet got run out in an attempt to take two runs. While jogging back to complete the run, Harmanpreet's bat got stuck and her feet were seen in the air when Australia's wicketkeeper Healy removed the bails.
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