Explained: How India can qualify for the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup semifinal after their 82-run win over Sri Lanka
India hammered Sri Lanka by 82 runs in match number 12 of the ICC Women's 2024 T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, October 9. With the thumping victory, they jumped to second in the Group A points table and also knocked Sri Lanka out of the tournament.
Batting first after winning the toss, the Women in Blue put up 172-3 - the highest total registered in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup. Openers Smriti Mandhana (50 off 38) and Shafali Verma (43 off 40) added 98 for the first wicket. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur hammered 52* off only 27, with the aid of eight fours and a six.
The Indian bowlers then came up with an impressive performance to clean up Sri Lanka for 90 in 19.5 overs. Arundhati Reddy and Asha Sobhana registered identical figures of 3-19, while Renuka Thakur Singh also made a big impact with 2-16 from four overs.
Big win over Sri Lanka boosts India's 2024 Women's T20 World Cup semifinal hopes
The huge 82-run win over Sri Lanka has given a significant push to India's net run rate, which has improved to +0.576. As mentioned earlier, they have moved up to second place in the Group A points table. However, the Women Blue cannot relax, as Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand are still very much in the race for a place in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup semi-finals.
India's next match will be against defending champions Australia in Sharjah on October 13. If they win it, they will finish on six points. However, if the Aussies beat Pakistan and go down to India, they will also finish the group stage on six points. New Zealand can also end with six points if they win their remaining games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. It will all thus come down to the net run rate.
If India go down to Australia in their last Group A match, they will need other results to go their way. A loss to the Aussies would see India would end the group stage of T20 World Cup with four points. They will then have to hope Pakistan and New Zealand do not cross the four-point mark and will also need a better net run rate that the two teams to finish in second place in Group A.
Both Pakistan and New Zealand have two matches left to play in Group A, one of them is against each other on October 14. If both win one game and lose one, they will end the group stage on four points. However, if either of the team wins both their matches, they will move up to six points.