WT20 WC: India fail to reach semis after 8 years
What's the story
India's campaign in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 has come to an end. This marks their first group-stage exit in a T20 WC edition in eight years.
The team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, suffered a nine-run defeat to Australia in the last league game.
The loss, along with New Zealand's stunning victory over Pakistan, sealed India's fate.
Here are further details.
Group standings
India's performance in Group A
In Group A, India finished third with four points after losing two matches against New Zealand and Australia.
Australia dominated the group by winning all four games, while New Zealand finished second with six points from their four games.
This early exit is a major setback for India, who had reached the semifinals in the last three editions of the tournament.
Match results
New Zealand's victory over Pakistan
New Zealand booked their semi-final berth in the Women's T20 World Cup with a comfortable 54-run win over Pakistan.
The win also knocked India and Pakistan out of the tournament.
In a brave attempt, Pakistan went for the chase of 111 runs in just 10.4 overs, but were bundled out for a mere 56 runs - the second-lowest all-out score in tournament history.
Match recap
India's performance against Australia and Sri Lanka
India started their campaign on a disappointing note, losing to New Zealand by 52 runs.
However, they made a strong comeback against Pakistan, courtesy Arundhati Reddy's three-wicket haul, which restricted Pakistan to 105/8.
In the match against Sri Lanka, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana scored half-centuries, taking India to their biggest victory in T20 World Cup history, by 82 runs.
Match details
Australia's narrow victory over India
Defending champions Australia, despite missing their captain Alyssa Healy, edged out India by nine runs.
Grace Harris was the top scorer with 40 runs for Australia, while Harmanpreet led India's chase with an unbeaten 54.
A crucial 63-run partnership with Deepti Sharma took the match to its final over but ultimately, Annabel Sutherland's exceptional last over sealed India's defeat.