Women’s T20 World Cup 2024: How can India qualify for the semi-finals ahead of their all-important clash vs Pakistan: Team India, under the leadership of experienced skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, suffered an embarrassing defeat by a margin of 58 runs in their opening-encounter of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 versus New Zealand on Friday in the city of Dubai. This defeat versus the White Ferns has significantly affected the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team’s chances of advancing to the semi-finals for the fourth successive time.
Moreover getting to the semi-finals will not be that easy since they are a part of Group A, often known as the “Group-of-Death,” which includes Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the reigning champions Australia.
The Women in Blue were asked to bowl first by New Zealand on Friday evening. The opening duo of Georgia Plimmer and Suzie Bates played an aggressive brand of Cricket in the first six overs and helped their team reach a score of 55-0 in the powerplay.
Asha Sobhana (1-22), Arundhati Reddy (1-28), and Renuka Singh (2-27) were the only bowlers who performed well for India in their encounter versus the Sophie Devine-led team. Devine led her team from the front as her fifty allowed her team to put up a good score of 160 runs on the board.
The White Ferns’ incredible bowling assault left the majority of Indian batters completely bewildered. Harmanpreet Kaur’s 15 runs was the highest score of the Indian batting unit on Friday when New Zealand bowled the Indians out for a mere 102 runs. The pace bowling duo of Lea Tahuhu (3-15) and Rosemary Mair (4-19) were the best New Zealand bowlers of the night as they ran through the Indian batting order.
Harmanpreet Kaur & Co face fierce-rivals Pakistan on Sunday (6th of October), before squaring off against Sri Lanka on the 9th of October and reigning champions Australia on October 9 in their last two remaining group-stage encounters.
Ahead of the all-important India versus Pakistan clash, let’s take a look at how Team India can qualify for the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Women’s T20 World Cup 2024: How can India qualify for the semi-finals
| Team | Matches | Won | Lost | No Result | Pts | NRR |
| New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +2.900 |
| Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +1.908 |
| Pakistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +1.550 |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1.667 |
| India | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2.900 |
A 58-runs defeat to Sophie Devine-led New Zealand means the Indian Cricket Team find themselves sitting at the fourth spot in the Group A points standing currently, with a really poor Net-Run-Rate (NRR) of -2.900.
The Mighty Australians, are sitting at the second position after securing a comfortable victory over Sri Lanka in their opening encounter of the competition.
Undoubtedly, India has to win their remaining two group matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in-order to stay alive in the race of advancing to the semi-finals. If the Women in Blue secure convincing victories over both the teams, then their negative Net-Run-Rate will improve significantly and those four points would prove to be crucial as well.
If Harmanpreet Kaur & Co beat Pakistan and Sri Lanka by large-margins and also overcome the challenge posed by Australia in their last group game, then they will be in a strong-position to qualify for the semi-finals.
If India defeats Pakistan & Sri Lanka but lose versus the Mighty Australians, then they will require New Zealand to help them out by losing in two of their remaining three group stage matches. The two teams that qualify for the semi-finals will be determined based on Net-Run-Rate.
Also Read: 3 Errors India Must Correct to Defeat Pakistan in Crucial Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Encounter
For more information, visit the official website of ICC