Women's T20 World Cup: India enters maiden finals after semi-finals washout
India qualified for the T20 World Cup finals on the basis of a higher position in the points table.
Indian women’s cricket team advanced to the finals of the T20 World Cup after their semi-final match against England was washed-out in Sydney. The match was abandoned due to persistent rain, without a ball being bowled.
India reached its maiden Women's T20 World Cup finals on the basis of a higher position in the points table. India, along with South Africa, are the only two teams with no losses in the group stage.
India finished on top of Group A with eight points after four wins in the group stage, whereas England finished second in Group B with six points.
At the post match presentation, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur rued the ICC’s decision to not have reserve days. “It is unfortunate not to get a game due to the weather. But that's how the rules go. In future, it would be nice to have a reserve day. From day one, we knew we have to win all the games because if in case we don't get any play in the semifinals, it will be hard for us. Credit to the team, we wanted to win all the games and we did it," she said.
The Australian Cricket Board had requested for reserve days even for the semi-finals but its request was turned down by the ICC.
Kaur's English counterpart Heather Knight also agreed with her saying, “Frustrating, didn’t want the World Cup to end this way but not much you can do about this. Would have been good to have a reserve day perhaps.”
India will play the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup finals on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It will face the winner of the second semi-final, which is between Australia and South Africa, which is slated for later in the day at the same venue, the Sydney Cricket Ground. Rain is forecasted for the entire day with the match scheduled to be played at 7 PM local time. If the second semi-final is also washed-out, the South African team will advance to the finals as it has a ranking over the Aussies.
(Edited by Megha Reddy)