Australia v India: Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 – live

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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…?

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.

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

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

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…

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

Australia win the toss and will bat first

Preamble