India eliminated from Women's T20 World Cup after six-wicket defeat to Australia

India were knocked out of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026, following a six-wicket defeat to Australia in Match 30 on Sunday, June 28 at Lord's, London. After opting to bat first, India posted a good score of 170/4 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of a blistering half-century from captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

Apart from her, Smriti Mandhana (38 off 37), Shafali Verma (34 off 26) and Jemimah Rodrigues (34 off 28) also made valuable contributions. For Australia, captain Sophie Molineux emerged as the pick of the bowlers, taking two wickets from four overs, giving away 46 runs.

In reply, Australia chased down the target in 19 overs, courtesy of half-centuries from Ellyse Perry (56 off 38) and Ashleigh Gardner (53* off 29). For India, Shree Charani (2/32) once again emerged as the pick of the bowlers, with two wickets to her name.

As a result, Australia completed the highest successful run chase in the Women's T20 World Cup and qualified for the semi-final along with South Africa from Group A.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Ellyse Perry was adjudged Player of the Match for her brilliant half-century. She scored a magnificent 56 off 38 balls, with the help of eight fours and got involved in a match-winning 100-run partnership with Ashleigh Gardner for the fourth wicket.

Turning Point

Ashleigh Gardner joined Ellyse Perry at the crease after Australia were on 68/3 in 9.1 overs. The duo played the first few overs cautiously as Australia required 86 runs from eight overs. They took on Radha Yadav in the 13th over of the innings, whacking her for 17 runs, which shifted the momentum in their favour. From then onwards, both Perry and Gardner began freeing up their arms and added 100 runs for the fourth wicket off just 57 balls to seal the game in Australia's favour.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Sophie Molineux (Australia women):

(On the boundary sizes here at Lord's) There was plenty of discussion about it. The shorter boundary down the slope, especially against the wind, was something we were very aware of. But I thought our bowlers did a really good job. There were a couple of expensive overs, but overall, the way Lucy started was fantastic, and everyone contributed at different stages. More than anything, I thought we used our cricket smarts really well, which was pleasing. We've done a good job of taking early wickets throughout the tournament. Today it didn't happen, but at the same time, we were able to keep things under control. We knew that even if we didn't strike early or they got off to a decent start, we'd have opportunities to pull things back, and I think we did that between overs six and eleven. Pez (Perry) brought them in (on getting in a huddle after the first innings). She said 170 is very very gettable. Her actions speak louder than words. She went out there, led from the front alongside Ash, and set the tone with the bat. It was great to watch. (On the Perry-Ash partnership) They both batted beautifully. They made the most of the conditions, used their experience and skills really well, targeted the shorter boundary when the opportunities came, and ran brilliantly between the wickets. They just got all the little things right, and that allowed them to build a really important partnership.

Losing Captain, Harmanpreet Kaur (India women):

End of the day we got decent total on the board. In between when I was batting I thought we were a little short but last couple of overs did the job. They were looking for the runs but couldn't do so. If I have to think about the entire tournament, we didn't do well against good teams. Against the best teams always your best comes. I think we need to rethink about that. They're one of the best. I think they bowled according to their plans. we didn't lose wickets, but at the same time we didn't get what we were expecting. It was a good game but unfortunately we didn't get over the line. Those catches cost us but today I think we were in the game. We didn't play to our standards. As a group we really need to rethink a lot of things, how we have to go against good teams, especially because sometimes, you know, we are in the game, but last few overs we've been giving heavy runs. And if we have to, you know, if we're chasing, then we are not able to get those runs while batting. So I think it's been happening for quite a long time.