Australia beat India to reach 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals – as it happened

6.57pm BST

Righto, that’s enough from me. Thanks for your company, the OBO will return…

Updated at 6.58pm BST

6.45pm BST

That was an impressive performance from Australia who were up against it with injuries. They withstood pressure with the bat to post a decent total and were suffocating with the ball and in the field. They go through to the semi-finals with an unbeaten run through the group stage. You didn’t expect anything else did you?

Sophie Molineux scoops Player of the Match for her 2-32 :

It was a really good game. India came out hard and it went down the wire. We held our nerve. I think we just wanted to stay calm. All the senior players stepped up and we just went back to basics. It was very loud, the crowd were very one-sided towards India but it’s cool. A lot of our players have experienced this, any game against India, you mark it in your calendar, it’s going to be massive (the semi-final). It’s about momentum for us now.”

Updated at 6.49pm BST

6.39pm BST

6.34pm BST

Australia win by nine runs!

Crikes . Four wickets in the final over! India came close at the last but left themselves with too much to do in the end. Australia book their spot in the semi-final and India will have a nervy wait to see if they progress ahead of New Zealand on - your friend and mine – net run rate.

6.30pm BST

WICKET! Yadav lbw b Sutherland 0 (India 141-9)

Are you keeping up with this? Am I?

Updated at 6.36pm BST

6.29pm BST

WICKET! Shreyanka Patil run out (†Mooney) 0 (India 141-8)

19.5 overs: Shreyanka is run out off a leg-side wide!

Updated at 6.35pm BST

6.26pm BST

19.4 overs: Kaur can only get a single. That could be Goodnight Viennetta.

6.25pm BST

WICKET! Reddy run out (Litchfield/Sutherland) 0

Reddy sacrifices herself in order to get Harmanpreet Kaur back on strike.

India need 13 from 3.

6.23pm BST

WICKET! Vastrakar b Sutherland 9 (India 139-6)

What were you worried about? Sutherland goes full and Harmanpreet can only get a single down the ground. Bowled! Vastrakar is cleaned up off the next one and it is a crucial dot.

India need 13 from 4 balls.

6.21pm BST

Annabel Sutherland is going to bowl the final over. Deep breaths.

6.20pm BST

19th over: India 138-5 (Harmanpreet 52, Vastrakar 9) Sophie Molineux to bowl the penultimate over. Vastrakar carves past point for four to put the pressure on the bowler. A full ball is luckily edged away fine by Kaur to take her to 49. She picks up two over cover to go to fifty and doesn’t even acknowledge it, she’s in the zone! A single off the last ball means that Harmanpreet Kaur will be on strike for the final over – India need 14 from six balls. Exactly what they’ve just scored off this one.

6.17pm BST

18th over: India 124-5 (Harmanpreet 45, Vastrakar 2) Now then! Harmanpreet hits back to back boundaries through the off side off Ash Gardner to keep India ticking. Just. 28 needed from 12!

6.14pm BST

17th over: India 112-5 (Harmanpreet 35, Vastrakar 0) Disastrous over for India, just a single and the wicket off it as Megan Schutt’s up shop for the Aussies.

(Sorry)

Updated at 6.15pm BST

6.12pm BST

WICKET! Richa Ghosh run out (Litchfield) 1 (India 111-5)

Direct hit! Gone! Ghosh taps to cover and sets off but Litchfield is a dead eye, she has a stump and a half to aim at and splatters them with a flat throw.

6.10pm BST

16th over: India 111-4 (Harmanpreet 34, Ghosh 1) Richa Ghosh is the new batter, she scampers a single to get off the mark from her first ball. India need 41 from 24 balls , they’ve still got Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease and she is well set. Loins girded for a tight finish?

6.08pm BST

WICKET! Sharma c Wareham b Molineux 29 (India 110-4)

India finally show some real intent, both Kaur and Sharma finding the fence off Molineux. The left arm spinner has the last laugh though as Sharma heaves her away straight to Georgia Wareham on the square leg boundary rope.

6.05pm BST

15th over: India 99-3 (Harmanpreet 25, Sharma 27) Georgia Wareham gets it all wroing and flings down a waist high full toss. Called a No Ball, rightly so, Kaur can’t connect with the free hit and it’s just a single. Deepti Sharma sweeps the final ball of the over past fine leg for four. India clinging on. 53 from 30 needed and the fifty partnership up for Sharma and Kaur.

6.02pm BST

14th over: India 90-3 (Harmanpreet 25, Sharma 19) Ash Gardner back for her third over, singles off the first four deliveries, India need to find the fence! Ah, there we go. Sweet release as Kaur pulls a short ball to the square leg fence.

5.59pm BST

13th over: India 82-3 (Harmanpreet 19, Sharma 17) Australia are well and truly putting the squeeze on, India’s eyes bulging in the green and gold constrictor coils. Just three runs off Sutherland. 70 runs needed from 42 balls.

5.55pm BST

12th over: India 79-3 (Harmanpreet 17, Sharma 16) Wareham is picked off for four singles off the over which serves only to lump more pressure on India. Kaur has 17 off 21 balls and needs to put her foot down. Thelma. Louise. Harmanpreet.

5.48pm BST

11th over: India 75-3 (Harmanpreet 15, Sharma 14) Righto. India need 85 runs from the remaining 60 balls. Australia officially qualify for the semi finals as the over ticks past the halfway mark, no matter what the result. So India and New Zealand are vying for the final semi spot from Group A.

Darcie Brown is given the nod by McGrath, a short ball is swivelled away for four by Harmanpreet and four more singles are collected off the over, eight in total off it.

Updated at 5.55pm BST

5.42pm BST

10th over: India 67-3 (Harmanpreet 9, Sharma 12) Molineux dusts herself down and comes back on for her second over. Harmanpreet tries to ramp but doesn’t connect, dots are deadly for India. Eeeesht! Shades of Sarah Taylor’s great catch down the leg side as Beth Mooney anticipates a lap sweep and heads off to try and haul it in with a dive. Sharp thinking and excellent effort but the ball just went too wide in the end. Just four runs off the over, not enough. Time for a drink , India need a splosh of rocket fuel in their squash.

Here is that Sarah Taylor masterpiece, enjoy.

5.35pm BST

9th over: India 63-3 (Harmanpreet 7, Sharma 9) Sutherland returns and keeps things tight for Australia, India can only work for singles. With the run rate rising Sharma swipes into the air on the leg side and narrowly evades the diving fielder, still only a single results. DROP! Sutherland sends down a looooopy slower ball that Sharma frying pans to backward point, Sophie Molineux dives to her weaker side but can’t cling on. Sharma survives. India need 89 runs from 66 balls.

5.29pm BST

8th over: India 57-3 (Harmanpreet 4, Sharma 7) Georgia Wareham into the attack, she gets away with a full bunger first ball, Sharma clubbing it to the fielder in the ring. A couple of singles worked down the ground are followed by a sweep for four by Sharma, a gossamer tickle off the glove is enough to divert the ball past Mooney behind the stumps.

5.27pm BST

7th over: India 48-3 (Harmanpreet 2, Sharma 1) Deepti Sharma joins her captain in the middle. At the very least India need to take this as close as they can in order to maximise their chances of progressing on NRR. A pounding will basically see them knocked out of the tournament. The required rate climbs to eight an over… the pressure cooker hisses in Sharjah.

5.24pm BST

WICKET! Jemimah Rodrigues c Gardner b Schutt 16 (India 47-3)

Rodrigues slams Schutt away through the leg side on the pull for four at the start of the over and is then dismissed trying to replicate the shot a few balls later! Rodrigues hit it hard and flat but straight into the safe hands of Ash Gardner on the boundary sponge, she don’t drop those.

5.21pm BST

6th over: India 41-1 (Rodrigues 11, Harmanpreet 1) Molineux is accurate, she gets out of the over for the cost of just two runs and pocketed the wicket of Mandhana, her RCB captain in the WPL. Harmanpreet arrives in the middle with plenty to do for her side.

5.18pm BST

WICKET! Smriti Mandhana lbw b Molineux 6 (India 39-2)

Sophie Molineux into the attack with her left arm spin and she picks up the big wicket of Mandhana with her first ball! A poor shot from the opener in truth, a good length delivery that she tried to hack away across the line, missing it and being trapped in front. India did not need that.

5.15pm BST

5th over: India 39-1 (Mandhana 6, Rodrigues 10) Jemimah Rodrigues comes to the party! She advance down the wicket to Annabel Sutherland and turns a length ball into a half volley, driving down the ground for four. Next ball Rodrigues stays stock still and bunts Sutherland back over her head for four more! Ten runs off the over, don’t count India out just yet.

5.11pm BST

WICKET! Verma c Sutherland b Gardner 20 (India 26-1)

Verma tries to go big again but doesn’t get enough on the shot, she’s caught on the long on boundary. Ash Gardner picks her up for the FIFTH time in T20I cricket. Bright Eyes, Burning Like Fire. Rabbit, innit.

Rodrigues is the new batter, three singles finish the over as Australia curtail India’s fast start.

4th over: India 29-1 (Mandhana 5, Rodrigues 2)

Updated at 5.12pm BST

5.07pm BST

3rd over: India 25-0 (Mandhana 3, Verma 20) Beth Mooney is keeping wicket for Australia in Healy’s absence. She has front row seats for Shafali Verma smoking Schutt back over her head for four and then timing a full ball away over the off side for a sweetly struck SIX!

5.04pm BST

2nd over: India 13-0 (Mandhana 3, Verma 10) Ash Gardner from t’other end. Verma drives down the ground for a couple and then works a single. Mandhana returns the favour to give Verma the last ball… which she duly clobbers away over square leg for four!

5.01pm BST

1st over: India 5-0 (Mandhana 2, Verma 3) Megan Schutt to open the bowling for Australia. FYI – India need to get the runs inside 10.2 overs if they are to leapfrog Australia … I know I know but I have to tell you these things.

Australia work five runs off the first over as my toddler waddles in to tell me off for some perceived indiscretion. She’s in her eighth straight hour of pretending to be a teacher. Daniel Day Lewis eat your heart out.

Updated at 5.01pm BST

4.46pm BST

Australia finish on 151-8

Phoebe Litchfield spanks the final ball of the innings over square on the leg side for SIX! A beaut of a slog sweep sees Australia get to 150 in the end. A topsy turvy innings, India will need to post 152 runs to win and keep their tournament hopes alive.

20th over: Australia 151-8 (Litchfield 15, Schutt 0)

Updated at 4.47pm BST

4.44pm BST

WICKET! Molineux run out (Patil/Rodrigues) 0 (Australia 145-8)

Confusion! Sophie Molineux pats her first ball in the air to Jemimah Rodrigues at point and believes she has been caught out. The batter starts to walk off but Rodrigues actually spilled the chance. Fair play to the fielder though, she recovered quickly and had the presence of mind to enact the run out. Slightly dozy cricket from Molineux.

One ball of the innings to go…

4.41pm BST

WICKET! Annabel Sutherland b Patil 10 (Australia 145-7)

Shreyanka Patil to bowl the final over. Sutherland charges and drives down the ground for four but then tries to repeat the shot and is comprehensively bowled!

4.39pm BST

19th over: Australia 139-6 (Litchfield 9, Sutherland 5) Annabel Sutherland is the new batter, she whips her very first ball from Sharma off her pads for four past fine leg. Sutherland takes a single off the final ball of the over to keep strike for the last. What can the Aussies post from here?

Updated at 4.46pm BST

4.36pm BST

WICKET! Perry c sub (S Sajana) b Sharma 32 (Australia 135-6)

Ellyse Perry departs after clubbing straight to sub fielder Sajana on the leg side boundary, the ball was middles and was travelling so it was a decent catch on the sponge.

Updated at 4.37pm BST

4.34pm BST

18th over: Australia 132-5 (Perry 31, Litchfield 8) Five singles rotated off Yadav’s second over but it is bad news for India as they’ve been too slow at bowling their overs and won’t be allowed to have all of their allotted players out outside the ring for the final two overs. This match slipping away from them…

4.30pm BST

17th over: Australia 127-5 (Perry 28, Litchfield 6) Another good over for Australia, twelve runs off it as Phoebe Litchfield clears her front leg and drives Deepti Sharma down the ground for four. Umpire Redfern then raises the finger to give Litchfield out lbw off an attempted reverse hit but Australia review and the decision comes back not out as the ball is still deemed to have pitched outside leg even though the batter was attempting a reverse-hit. There’s some confusion out there, I might have to dust off the law book too.

On we go, Perry clears the mind and pulls as Sharma short ball away for four more. Australia finishing strongly, they’ll be looking at a target of 150/160 from here.

Updated at 4.31pm BST

4.25pm BST

16th over: Australia 115-5 (Perry 21, Litchfield 1) Shreyanka Patil drags down and Ellyse Perry punishes her, rocking back and hitting through the leg side for four. SIX! Perry then hits the first Aussie six of the evening, dancing down and hitting high and long over the midwicket rope. Fourteen runs in total off the over as Australia plunder precious runs.

Updated at 4.26pm BST

4.20pm BST

15th over: Australia 101-5 (Perry 8, Litchfield) India keep taking wickets, Phoebe Litchfield is the new batter.

4.19pm BST

WICKET! Gardner c Yadav b Vastrakar 6 (Australia 101-5)

Ash Gardner hits a four straight down the ground but then perishes to the short ball! Vastrakar drags her length back and Gardner swipes into the air to cover.

Updated at 4.23pm BST

4.16pm BST

14th over: Australia 95-4 (Perry 7, Gardner 1) Ash Gardner arrives in the middle and nearly ploops a return catch straight back to Sharma off her first ball! The ball flew just wide of the bowler in her follow through and the batters scamper a single. Perry cuts away for two but the over belongs to India - just four runs and the wicket of Harris off it.

Updated at 4.16pm BST

4.07pm BST

WICKET! Harris c Mandhana b Sharma 40 (Australia 92-4)

Harris plinks Deepti Sharma straight to mid on! Tame dismissal in the end. Both set batters back in the hutch for Australia as India hit back.

4.05pm BST

13th over: Australia 95-4 (Harris 40, Perry 4) Grace Harris gives the Aussie run rate a welcome shot in the arm with two boundaries off the over. A thump over mid-off is followed by a freebie on the leg stump from Arundhati Reddy that is clubbed behind square.

Updated at 4.16pm BST

4.02pm BST

12th over: Australia 80-3 (Harris 32, Perry 1) Ellyse Perry arrives at the crease. She can sometimes be a slow starter but Australia can ill afford her to chew up too many deliveries. Off the mark first ball with a drive to deep cover.

4.00pm BST

WICKET! McGrath st †Ghosh b Yadav 32 (Australia 79-3)

Huge drop! Harmanpreet Kaur shells Tahlia McGrath at mid off off the bowling of Radha Yadav and hangs her head in her hands instead. How costly will that be… NOT VERY! Radha Yadav fires one past McGrath as she advances and lines up a wild swing, Richa Ghosh does the honours behind the sticks to enact a neat stumping. McGrath was looking to put her foot down and India are very glad to see the back of her.

3.56pm BST

11th over: Australia 71-2 (Harris 31, McGrath 25) Australia have recovered well from the early losses of Mooney and Wareham but will still want plenty more. Luckily for them they’ve got the impressive engine room of Perry, Gardner, Litchfield and Sutherland to come.

Renuka Singh returns for her final over, can she find another breakthrough… nearly – she scuds one into McGrath’s pads off her final delivery and impores umpire Sue Redfern to raise the finger. It looked a close one. The umpires says no and India go upstairs. Good decision from the umpire, the ball was just slipping past leg stump. Renuka Singh finishes with 2-24 from her four overs.

3.48pm BST

10th over: Australia 65-2 (Harris 27, McGrath 24) Deepti Sharma summoned by Harmanpreet and her first over is good one, nagging line on the stumps and only five runs off the over. We’re halfway through the Aussie innings and it’s time for a drink. Milk, no sugar. Ta.

3.45pm BST

9th over: Australia 60-2 (Harris 25, McGrath 21) Drop! Deepti Sharma shells a low chance from Harris at backward point, the momentum beginning to change in this game. McGrath dances down and lofts Arundhati over mid off for four as the Aussie partnership grows.

3.41pm BST

8th over: Australia 52-2 (Harris 24, McGrath 14) Vastrakar returns and very nearly cleans up McGrath with one that nips back late. India decide against the review, it looked a little high, the replays show it was umpires call and the decision on field was not out. Prettay prettay close though. Shot! McGrath charges the next ball and drives on the up through point for four. Vastrakar responds with a bouncer that McGrath ducks. A single to cover brings Harris on strike for the final ball of the over. Nicely played! A pre-meditated dab from Harris is well executed and runs away fine for the second boundary of the over. Ten runs off it.

3.37pm BST

7th over: Australia 42-2 (Harris 19, McGrath 9) Arundhati Reddy given the nod and sends down another tight over, just five singles off it as Australia can’t break the shackles.

The Aussies have patted back 22 dots so far, that gives a decent indication of how well the Indian bowlers have bowled and fielded so far.

3.33pm BST

6th over: Australia 37-2 (Harris 16, McGrath 7) Shreyanka Patil to bowl the final over of the powerplay. Bosh! Harris greets her with a heave over midwicket that bounces once before hitting the boundary hoardings. Patil responds well though, darting the ball in at the stumps and not giving Harris the chance to get under it. Two leg byes and single the only further damage. Cat and mouse stuff.

3.30pm BST

5th over: Australia 30-2 (Harris 11, McGrath 7) Grace Harris lines up a smear into the leg side but misses it and the ball nearly cleans up her leg stump. Ghosh missed it too and the batters scrabble a single. Renuka Singh is looking for the lbw again but strays a bit too straight an is worked away into the leg side by both batters. Six runs off the over.

3.27pm BST

4th over: Australia 24-2 (Harris 10, McGrath 5) Pooja Vastrakar into the attack for India. Medium pace and shaping way from the right hander. McGrath punches through cover for a single to get off the mark and then finishers the over with clip of the pads fine for four. Australia have Ellyse Perry to come in next, they are in the middle of a re-build job here, India are buzzing about after the early breakthroughs, could this be their night…?

3.21pm BST

3rd over: Australia 18-2 (Harris 9, McGrath 0) Stand in captain Tahlia McGrath arrives at the crease with her team in srtrife. Can she survive the hat-trick ball from Renuka… just! The ball was arrowed in at the pads once more but was a bit too leg side, McGrath scampering a leg bye to get down the other end and keep strike for the next over. Two wickets for Renuka and India putting the Aussies under the pump in Sharjah.

3.18pm BST

WICKET! Wareham lbw b Renuka Singh 0 (Australia 17-2)

Stone. Dead. Wareham is pinned lbw first ball and Renuka Singh is on a hat-trick!

3.17pm BST

WICKET! Mooney c Yadav b Renuka Singh 2 (Australia 17-1)

Mooney cuts away uppishly and is well caught by the last minute replacement Radha Yadav, diving forward to scoop the ball up just before it hit the turf. Fine grab and India have their first!

3.15pm BST

Gah! Renuka slides one down the leg side and leaves Ghosh with no chance behind the stumps as the ball races away for five wides… but hang on a minute…

3.11pm BST

There’s been a late swap to the India XI: Radha Yadav has come in for Asha Sobhana. I only just saw this. Finger meet pulse .

Updated at 3.14pm BST

3.10pm BST

2nd over: Australia 9-0 (Harris 7, Mooney 1) Shreyanka Patil from the other end with her wily off-breaks. She starts well, pinning Mooney on the pads with an arm-ball and getting plenty of drift and spin when she flights it. Just a single to each batter, the floodlights beat down in Sharjah and it looks very clammy out there.

3.08pm BST

1st over: Australia 7-0 (Harris 6, Mooney 0) India’s wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh is up to the stumps and there’s a slip in place too. Renuka is on the money first ball but strays short and wide with her second, Harris does not miss out, rocking back and spanking through point for four! A drop? Renuka spears one down the leg side and I think Harris got a tickle on it, Ghosh spills it and the umpire tellingly does not give a wide. They stick or they don’t… and that one didn’t. Harris clips for a couple off her pads to make it seven runs off the first.

3.02pm BST

Right then, the players are heading out for the anthems, Grace Harris and Beth Mooney are opening up for the Aussies. Renuka Singh is going to open the bowling for India. The actual fireworks go off and maybe we’re about to see some more metaphorical ones. Play!

2.53pm BST

Not looking good for Alyssa Healy and Tayla Vlaeminck’s tournament is over. You know it, I know it – sport is a cruel so and so sometimes.

2.48pm BST

Here’s one England prepared earlier:

Heather Knight’s side booked their place in the semi-finals with a ten wicket victory over Scotland and - whisper it – are seemingly peeking at the right time for a tilt at the trophy.

Related: Women’s T20 World Cup: England thrash Scotland to go top of Group B

2.43pm BST

Teams:

Grace Harris and Darcie Brown are back in the side for Australia. Pooja Vastrakar is back in the XI for India. It’s a still sweltering 34 degrees in Sharjah with the temperature set to drop as evening sets in. Perhaps dew will play a part later on in proceedings…

India: 1 Shafali Verma, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Harmanpreet Kaur (C), 4 Jemimah Rodriguez, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Pooja Vastrakar, 8 Arundhati Reddy, 9 Shreyanka Patil, 10 Asha Sobhana, 11 Renuka Singh

Australia: 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Grace Harris , 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Ashleigh Gardner, 5 Phoebe Litchfield, 6 Tahlia McGrath (C), 7 Georgia Wareham, 8 Annabel Sutherland, 9 Sophie Molineux, 10 Megan Schutt, 11 Darcie Brown

2.40pm BST

Australia win the toss and will bat first

The news is confirmed that Alyssa Healy is out of action for Australia, she’s even sporting crutches so it doesn’t look good for the rest of the tournament. Thalia McGrath takes the captaincy reins with the incredibly experienced Ellyse Perry as her deputy, her first act is a succesful one, she wins the toss and decides to have a bat.

2.31pm BST

Preamble

Hello and welcome to the OBO of Australia v India from Sharjah. There’s a place in the T20 World Cup semi-final at stake and Harmanpreet Kaur’s side have it all to do. In order to progress they’ll need to jam a stick in the spokes of one of the greatest sides to grace world cricket, and that is not hyperbole.

An India win of 61 runs or more will see them leapfrog the Aussies and qualify automatically for the final four but that would be some turn up for the books as India have only won eight of the 34 T20 matches they’ve played against the Aussies. However, the world champions do have a few injury concerns that leave them a smidge more vulnerable.

Pace bowler Tayla Vlaeminck has a dislocated right shoulder, suffered after only four balls in their eventual win against Pakistan and captain Alyssa Healy was forced to hobble off the field towards the end of the match with an “acute” injury to her right foot.

Healy’s prognosis for the rest of the tournament should become clear soon after she was sent for scans yesterday. Vlaeminck’s injury is a particularly cruel blow as the fast bowler has been plagued with injury and was playing only her second World Cup match and first since 2018. her teammates were visibly upset when she went down and it became clear she could not continue.

The Aussies have remarkable strength in depth but won’t take India lightly, they have yet another world trophy in their sights. If India win by less than 61 runs then they’ll be looking nervously to New Zealand’s match against Pakistan and a host of net run rate outcomes that, to be perfectly honest, make my brain rattle. We’ll cross that numerical bridge when and if we come to it.

Play gets underway at 6pm local time, 1am AEDT time and 3pm where I am in dear old blighty. I’ll be back with news of the teams and the toss when they filter through. Please do drop me a line with any thoughts and theories, the ( ludicrously ? ) capacious OBO mailbag is open.