Australia chased down India’s 170 to win by six wickets at Lord’s on Sunday and march into the Women’s T20 World Cup semifinals unbeaten. Fifties from Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner powered a 100-run stand that turned the chase. The chase was the highest successful run-chase in Women’s T20 World Cups, per the ICC. India’s exit sent South Africa through as the second team from Group A.
India finished at 170/4 after a late assault from captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 56 off 27 balls. The total looked competitive when Australia slipped to 68/3 in the 10th over. Perry and Gardner then targeted the spinners in the middle overs to seal the chase in 19 overs.
How the Chase Unfolded
Australia needed 171 after India posted 170/4 on Sunday. Georgia Voll, the opener whose rapid rise to the top of the T20I rankings had dominated recent weeks, fell lbw to Renuka Singh Thakur for 4 in the first over to leave Australia 4/1. Phoebe Litchfield and Beth Mooney steadied the chase with a 50 stand.
Sree Charani broke through when she had Litchfield caught by Smriti Mandhana at long-off for 24, leaving Australia 54/2. Two overs later, Deepti Sharma drew Mooney into a skier that Radha Yadav caught for 22, making Australia 68/3 in the 10th over with the required rate past nine an over. Sharma’s dismissal of Mooney made her the leading wicket-taker in women’s international cricket with 356 wickets.
Perry walked in and the chase turned. The pair targeted the first two balls of each over, per Perry after the match. They added 17 runs off the 13th over alone. By the 17th over, Australia were 154/3 and cruising.
- Georgia Voll lbw b Renuka Singh Thakur 4 (Australia 4-1, 0.2 overs)
- Phoebe Litchfield c Smriti Mandhana b Sree Charani 24 (Australia 54-2, 6.3 overs)
- Beth Mooney c Radha Yadav b Deepti Sharma 22 (Australia 68-3, 9.1 overs)
Perry and Gardner Tear the Chase Open
Perry’s 56 came off 38 balls with eight boundaries. Gardner finished 53 not out off 29, with three sixes and three fours. The 100-run partnership came up off 57 balls in the middle overs.
Both reached fifty at a clip. Perry’s took 33 balls; Gardner’s beat her by five. The stand turned a tricky chase into a procession, with the Indian spinners unable to slow them. Australia finished the chase in 19 overs.
It was a really enjoyable partnership with Ash. I think probably having the opportunity to watch the way the first innings played out and to see that, it’s sort of possible to accelerate through the middle and back end there. The way that Ash came out and her approach to her innings was really important in the context of the game and I thought she shifted the momentum beautifully.
Perry, 35, won the Aramco Player of the Match award for her second consecutive fifty of the tournament. She made clear her side’s focus was already on the semifinal.
Perry said Australia had toured the Caribbean earlier in 2026 and played them in a warm-up. ‘There’s absolutely no favourites,’ she added about the semifinal. ‘There’s no foregone conclusions with results.’
How India Set 170
India won the toss and elected to bat, the right call on a surface that grew easier under lights. Mandhana and Verma put on 66 for the first wicket, with Verma hitting three fours and two sixes before Sophie Molineux castled her for 34. Mandhana was run out two overs later for 38 in a mix-up with Rodrigues. The opening platform had done its job.
Kaur and Rodrigues added 64 off 45 balls for the third wicket. Rodrigues retired out on 34 to give Richa Ghosh a hit before the final over. Kaur then launched, hoisting a six over long off to bring up her 50 in 25 balls, the fastest fifty by an Indian in Women’s T20 World Cups.
She smashed three successive sixes off Molineux in the 20th over. India finished with 36 runs off the last two overs to post 170. Australia dropped four catches, three in the death overs that became boundaries. Molineux was the only Australian bowler to take a wicket, finishing with 2/46.
Records Reset at Lord’s
Australia’s chase reset the record book. The 172/4 marked the highest successful run chase in Women’s T20 World Cups, per the ICC. A crowd of 27,163 at the ground also set a new world record for group-stage women’s cricket attendance. Both records fell on the same afternoon. India’s late surge had nearly set up a different ending.
Deepti Sharma’s milestone sat alongside the chase. Her wicket of Mooney earlier made her the leading wicket-taker in women’s international cricket with 356 wickets. Perry’s player-of-the-match award was her second of the tournament.
- Australia’s chase to 172: highest successful run chase in Women’s T20 World Cups
- Crowd of 27,163 at the ground: world record for group-stage women’s cricket attendance
- Deepti Sharma: leading wicket-taker in women’s international cricket (356 wickets)
- Harmanpreet Kaur: fastest fifty by an Indian in Women’s T20 World Cups (25 balls)
| Runs | Balls | Fours | Sixes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellyse Perry | 56 | 38 | 8 | 0 |
| Ash Gardner | 53* | 29 | 3 | 3 |
India Out, South Africa Through
The result reshaped the semifinal bracket on three fronts. India, who entered the group as serious contenders, are out of the tournament. South Africa advance as the second team from Group A after beating Bangladesh by four wickets earlier on Sunday.
England’s semifinal position also shifted. Had India won, England would have faced Australia on Tuesday afternoon at The Oval. India’s loss means England take on South Africa on Thursday evening, the prime-time slot. South Africa are finalists at the last two editions of this tournament and are still chasing a first title.
Australia march on unbeaten, five wins from five in the group stage. India exit at the group stage, with their bowling attack missing injured spinner Shreyanka Patil.
Semifinals Locked In
Australia face West Indies at The Oval on Tuesday, June 30, with first ball at 2:30 p.m. BST. West Indies pipped Sri Lanka to the second Group B semifinal spot on net run rate. They lost two of their last three group games before sealing qualification. Australia topped Group A without dropping a match.
West Indies are the only team other than Australia to have won a Women’s T20 World Cup, lifting the title in 2016. Perry expects a tight contest. ‘The game has changed so much in that period of time,’ she noted of the decade since.
England meet South Africa in the second semifinal at The Oval on Thursday, July 2, first ball 6:30 p.m. BST. England won all five group games, including a nine-wicket win over New Zealand on Sunday. South Africa’s only group loss came against Australia in the group stage. The winners meet in the final at Lord’s on July 5.
The venue has staged both the group-stage decider and the championship match of this tournament. The Oval hosts both semifinals, per the four-team semifinal bracket and schedule.
