Australia defeats India by 9 runs in Women's T20 Cricket Semifinal

Indian women's cricket team's dream of reaching the final ended after losing to 5-time champions Australia by 9 runs in the semi-final of the Commonwealth Games.

The match was a nail-biting contest, with both teams fighting tooth and nail until the very end. India needed 11 runs off the final over to win, but could only manage to score 1 run, thus handing Australia a thrilling victory.

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first, posting a competitive total of 161/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Beth Mooney top-scored for Australia with a brilliant 54 off 37 deliveries, while Tahlia McGrath and Ashleigh Gardner also made valuable contributions with 44 and 35 runs respectively.

In reply, India got off to a solid start, with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma putting on a 52-run opening partnership. However, after the departure of Verma, India lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually restricted to 152/8 in their 20 overs.

Harmanpreet Kaur top-scored for India with a gritty 52 off 34 balls, while Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma also chipped in with useful cameos.

For Australia, Megan Schutt was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 wickets for 24 runs in her 4 overs. Ashleigh Gardner and Alana King also took 2 wickets each.

The defeat ended India's hopes of reaching the final of the Women's T20 Cricket competition at the Commonwealth Games. They will now play against New Zealand in the bronze medal match, while Australia will face England in the final.