Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. failed to hold their nerves in their final group-stage match against Australia and lost by nine runs in Sharjah. India finished the group stage with four points after two wins and two losses and now in a tricky position to qualify for the semifinals. They must hope that Pakistan beat New Zealand on Monday to leave the second semi-final place to be decided on net run rate. The Indian bowlers did a decent job in Sharjah, but late fireworks from Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland helped them breach the 150-run mark.

The star-studded Indian batting line-up faltered once again in front of Australian bowlers as the top-order was back in the hut inside seven overs. Shafali Verma (20) and Jemimah Rodrigues (16) were off to good starts, but they failed to convert them into big scores. Meanwhile, Skipper Harmanpreet hit an unbeaten half-century, but her strike rate - 114.89 came under the scanners. She played a few dot balls in the middle overs and put the foot on the accelerator in the final overs, but it was a bit too late. India required 14 runs off the final over, and the skipper took a single on the first ball. She saw her team lose four wickets in the next five balls, and they managed to get just three runs off it.

India star Punam Raut, who is not part of the T20 WC squad, was not impressed with the team's performance and said they played like players with zero experience.

"Having 100 matches experience = 0 experience.. if it’s can’t be applied in big games," Raut wrote on X.

Having 100 matches experience = 0 experience..
if it’s can’t be applied in big games.

— Punam Raut (@raut_punam) October 14, 2024

‘We were not able to utilise a few loose balls,’ admits Harmanpreet Kaur

Harmanpreet rued failing to capitalise on loose balls during her 63-run stand with Deepti Sharma for the fourth wicket.

“The only thing is, when Deepti and I were batting, that time we were not able to utilise a few loose balls. We could have controlled the boundaries. I think we were still in the game,” said Harmanpreet, who scored an unbeaten 54 off 47 balls with six fours.

“But then again, as we know their (Australia’s) experience, they know how to win games like that. We have to learn from them,” she said.

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