Australia Women vs India Women, 30th Match, Group A, ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 - CommentaryAUSW vs INDW, 30th Match, Group A, ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 - Commentary

India have faltered against their old enemy once more in a match that they had to win. It will be South Africa who qualify for the semis after going through a whole range of emotions while watching helplessly from the balcony. Australia vs West Indies, and England vs South Africa is the semifinal lineup, with both matches taking place at The Oval. India will take the long flight home and will have plenty to think about. They never could settle on one combination in the tournament. All four pacers in the squad were given opportunities and none of them inspired much confidence. And with the bat, the intent was just missing in both the big games against South Africa and Australia. Harman nearly bailed them out today with a late blitz but it wasn't enough against the class of Australia. Hopes of a first title will have to wait. That's all from the Group Stages. It's a goodbye from Sagar Chawla on behalf of Mukesh and Hardik Worah!

Molineux: (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 (talking about the 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.

Harman: 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 (the batters who struggled today). 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 (talking about her knock). I think we need to rethink about that. They're one of the best (on Australia). 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 (in earlier games) 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.

Ellyse Perry | Player of the Match: Just an incredible atmosphere and amazing support from the crowd. The opportunity to play here at Lord's against India in an amazing game, the battle... so, yeah, a really special day for everyone. Really appreciate everyone who came out to support us today and made it such a fun day. We felt like it was a pretty good wicket. We just needed a strong partnership through the middle there to get us a good platform for the back end. (On her partnership with Gardner) I thought Ash was superb. She targeted the first six balls, which was great. She sort of regularly found the boundary off those balls, and I think that always gives you a strong footing in the over. Then we were able to go with her to get a bit of momentum. Ash was superb. I think it's been a wonderful tournament so far. Every venue that we've played at has had great atmosphere and crowds. The cricket has been brilliant. There's been a few upsets as well, and various matches have gone right down to the wire. So it's been such a fun tournament to be part of so far. Hopefully, two more big games to go. We've got something to work towards. That's what our preparation's for, and everyone's really nice and just enjoying it. We'll see what happens.

Stats by Roshan Gede

India seamers in Women’s T20 WC 2026
Wickets: 5 (least)
Avg: 47 (10th)
SR: 31.4 (9th)
ER: 8.98 (11th)
Dot-ball percentage: 38.2% (10th)
Boundary-percentage: 22.29% (11th)
*ranked among the 12 teams in the competition

Highest successful chases in Women’s T20 WC
171 - AUS-W vs IND-W, Lord’s, 2026
164 - ENG-W vs AUS-W, The Oval, 2009 SF
164 - ENG-W vs NZ-W, The Oval, 2026
163 - WI-W vs NZ-W, Southampton, 2026
159 - SA-W vs IND-W, Manchester, 2026

- Six of the eight successful 150-plus chases in Women’s T20 WC have come in the ongoing edition.

- This is also Australia Women’s second-highest chase in T20Is, only behind the 173 they had gunned down against the same opponent at Mumbai DYP in 2022.

100-plus stands for 4th wicket or lower in Women’s T20 WC
134 - Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues (IND-W) vs NZ-W, Providence, 2018
118 - Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin (WI-W) vs SA-W, Basseterre, 2010
104* - Nilakshika Silva, Harshitha Samarawickrama (SL-W) vs BAN-W, Cape Town, 2023
101 - Brooke Halliday, Izzy Sharp (NZ-W) vs SCOT-W, Bristol, 2026
100 - Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt (ENG-W) vs PAK-W, Cape Town, 2023
100 - Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner (AUS-W) vs IND-W, Lord’s, 2026

Four 50-plus stands in this match: a joint-record in Women’s T20Is with seven other instances, and the first in the Women’s T20 World Cup.

- This was also the fifth time that three 50-plus scores were recorded from No.4 or lower in a Women’s T20I, the first in a World Cup.

Most wickets in a Women’s T20 WC edition
15 - Amelia Kerr (NZ-W, 2024)
14 - Shree Charani (IND-W, 2026)
13 - Anya Shrubsole (ENG-W, 2014)
13 - Megan Schutt (AUS-W, 2020)
12 - Nonkululeko Mlaba (SA-W, 2024)

17:46 Local Time, 16:46 GMT, 22:16 IST: Gloomy faces in the Indian camp as they line up for the handshakes. Harman's late blitz had given them such a boost when they left for the innings break, and then they started well with the ball too. But that partnership between Perry and Gardner just knocked the wind out of their sails. What a performance it was from those two bonafide legends to knock India out. They joined hands with the required rate approaching 10, and had things under control the whole way through. India will be really disappointed with how timid they were with the bat before their captain came to the party. Mandhana spoke of playing with intent before the match but hardly showed any on the crease. Rodrigues couldn't get going and while she was struggling, Richa Ghosh was watching from the dugout. It took until the final over for India to retire Rodrigues out to get their powerhitter in. Still, 171 wasn't a bad total on this surface at all. But it was the same story of their pacers being taken for runs and of course you need to doff your hat to the quality of that partnership we saw.

Shree Charani to Ellyse Perry, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Kapp is all smiles as she watches on