Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women’s cricket team is living a dream, they have now qualified for their maiden T20 World Cup final in Sydney. For the first time, for the women's side, they assured an unbeaten run in the group stage and now their semi-final clash against England got washed out. An important fact to note here is so far India hasn't lost any game in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. The first semi-final between India and England was abandoned due to heavy rain. Hence, India assured a spot in the finals based on their current performance in the tournament. They had finished as the table-toppers in their Group A.
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"Unfortunate we didn't get a game," captain Harmanpreet Kaur lauded her team for putting some great performances and winning all four league matches. "But there are rules and we have to follow it. Having reserve days in the future will be a great idea. From day 1, we knew we have to win all the games because in case the semis don't happen, that would be hard for us. In that sense, credit to the team for winning all the games," she said after the match got washed out.
The ICC rules clearly state both innings need to have at least five overs to constitute a match. However, in ICC tournaments, the minimum over-limit goes to 10 overs per side. So if due to rain the match is played for less than 10 overs per innings, the match is deemed 'abandoned'.
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Harmanpreet added that her team is ready for the final now. Excited about playing her maiden summit clash of this tournament, she explained, "Everybody is looking in great touch - Shafali and Smriti in particular. They are giving us good starts, and that helps. Me and Smriti are trying to spend more time in the nets. We are looking more positive now. Unfortunately we haven't come up with big innings, but our teammates are, and at the end of the day it's a team game. First T20 World Cup final means a lot for us. But as a team, we just want to play our best cricket in the final."
"If we can play our best cricket, we will be in a good position. We know both South Africa and Australia have done well so far, so we are not thinking about the other team," she added.
Former Captain Mithali Raj’s tweeted, “As an Indian I am absolutely thrilled India has made it to the finals. But as a cricketer I feel for the English girls. I’d never want to find myself or my team in that situation. But the rules are such and it is what it is. Congratulations girls.This is big.”
India captain Virat Kohli took to Twitter to congratulate the women's team:
Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman congratulated the girls and tweeted:
In 2018, India and England clashed in the semi-finals, but India lost the Women's T20 World Cup. This year, India defeated hosts Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka in their group to head into the semi-finals undefeated.
India will next face the winner of the match between South Africa and Australia. The final of the Women's T20 World Cup will be played on Sunday.
Feature Image Credit: BCCIWomen / Twitter
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