Auckland, March 19: India’s path to the semifinals got a lot tougher after a six-wicket loss to Australia in the Women’s World Cup here on Saturday as the Meg Lanning-led side became the first to qualify for the last four stage with a record chase in tournament history.
Half-centuries from skipper Mithali Raj (68 off 96 balls), Yastika Bhatia (59 off 83) and Harmanpreet Kaur (57 not out off 47) steered India to 277 for seven.
The total had never been chased before in tournament history but Australia’s ominous form and batting friendly conditions at Eden Park meant that they cruised to their fifth win in as many games.
Openers Alyssa Healy (72 off 65) and Rachael Haynes (43 off 52) got Australia off to a flier with a 121-run stand before skipper Lanning (97 off 107) took the team on the cusp of victory.
Jhulan Goswami needed to defend eight runs off the final over but Beth Mooney (30 not out of 20) got the job done in the first three balls. The path to the semifinals has become tougher for India after their third loss in five games. The 2017 edition runners-up play their remaining games against South Africa and Bangladesh.
With Australia marching to victory at 225 for two, a passing shower stopped proceedings at Eden Park but play resumed shortly and Australia completed the job with little fuss.
Earlier, Mithali and Yastika steadied the Indian innings with a 130-run stand for the third wicket after Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma fell cheaply.
With India slipping to 213 for six from 158 for two, Harmanpreet came up with a much-needed counter attack to take the team well past 250. Pooja Vastrakar once again provided the late flourish with 34 off 28 balls.
Pooja and Harmanpreet blasted 64 runs off 47 balls in their seventh wicket stand with India picking 52 runs in the last five overs.
Mithali Raj also got back amongst the runs after a lean run by her lofty standards in the first four games. A usually disciplined Australia bowled as many as 24 wides to help India’s cause. (PTI)
