India were eliminated from the 2026 ICC Women’s T20I World Cup with the loss against Australia in the deciding fixture of the group stage. Australia won the game by 6 wickets and Ellyse Perry was given the Player of the Match award. Harmanpreet Kaur and her women would be shattered as they couldn’t defend the target of 171 in the second innings. They seemed to have some control over the game right until the 14th over of Shree Charani but the game changed completely on its head. After Charani’s expensive over, there was a flurry of boundaries for the Australian side and the game slipped away from India. Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner stood their ground and made sure that Australia completed the highest chase in ICC Women’s T20I World Cup history.

Harmanpreet Kaur would be disappointed with the result as there were a couple of moments they could have capitalized in the field but the scoreboard pressure was felt on the fielders too. The Indian bowling unit did a good job early on in the game with a couple of wickets that broke key partnerships. However, after the wicket of Beth Mooney, India weren’t able to pick wickets and the pressure eased on Australia. Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner put together a solid partnership of 100-runs to take Australia home and they finished unbeaten in the group stage as well.

Australia's record chase end India's World Cup campaign

India were drawn into a fairly competitive Group A with the likes of South Africa and Australia. According to the qualification scenario from the Group Stage, the top two teams of Group A and Group B would qualify for the Semi-finals. As they went into their final match of the Group Stage, they had to beat Australia to finish in the top 2 and eliminate South Africa. However, India couldn’t end the unbeaten streak of the Australian side and they were handed an early exit in the Group Stage itself. India haven’t qualified for the Semi-Finals of the ICC Women’s T20I World Cup in its last two editions.

Harmanpreet Kaur chose to bat first against Australia, with the hope that they could set a competitive total on board. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma were able to give India a fine start in the first 10 overs of the game with an opening partnership of 66 runs. Then the runs dried up in the middle overs of the game, and there was a mix-up in the middle that resulted in the wicket of Smriti Mandhana. The explosive surge from Harmanpreet Kaur in the back-end of the innings helped India reach a total of 170 after the 20 overs.

During the second innings, India weren’t able to get a hold of the game even though they picked some wickets in the key moments of the game. India’s fielding was a bit off today and that made things even easier for the Australian batting unit. Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma bowled economically in their spells and that controlled the flow of runs for Australia during the run chase. The batting prowess of Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner proved to be difficult to contain for India and Australia cruised to victory in 19 overs.

India’s early exit in the 2026 ICC Women’s T20I World Cup would have upset the fans as they expected better from this Indian side. Harmanpreet Kaur’s dream of clinching the T20I World Cup title for India would have to wait longer and this could probably be her last attempt as well.