Harmanpreet Kaur, the star batter of the Indian women’s team, drew all attention as she walked out to bat against the powerful Australian side in the first semi-final of the ICC Women’s World T20 2023 at Newlands on Thursday. India faced a daunting task due to a lackluster fielding performance and Australia’s top-order dominance in the high-scoring contest in Cape Town.

Australia’s opener Beth Mooney and captain Meg Lanning led the team to a challenging total after winning the toss and electing to bat first. India’s openers Shafali Verma (9) and Smriti Mandhana (2) failed to deliver, and with Yastika Bhatia’s dismissal, the team was on the brink of a batting collapse. However, Harmanpreet’s aggressive knock revived the hopes of the Women In Blue after being in a precarious situation at 28/3.

Despite the early setbacks, India fought valiantly, taking the match to the last over. Harmanpreet, who battled fever hours before the match, led from the front and scored a gritty half-century, turning the match in India’s favour. However, her unfortunate dismissal allowed Lanning and her team to make a late comeback.

Harmanpreet attempted a slog-sweep to the mid-wicket region to take a comfortable double but got run out as her bat got stuck, and her feet were in the air when wicketkeeper Healy removed the bails. Her dismissal in the 15th over shattered India’s hopes of a successful run chase.

Harmanpreet’s counter-attacking partnership of 69 runs with Jemimah Rodrigues gave India some momentum, but their dismissals proved to be the turning point, and the team collapsed. Although Harmanpreet reached her half-century in just 32 deliveries, her odd run-out, the first in five years, brought her fine knock to an end.