Australia completed a World Cup-record chase of 278 to beat India by six wickets and become the first team to book their place in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 semi-finals.

Skipper Mithali Raj’s 68 was one of three fifties for India as they built vital partnerships to frustrate Australia’s bowlers on their way to posting 277 for seven.  But Australia’s batters, led by Meg Lanning’s 97, ground their opponents down putting on two 100-run partnerships before a late India fightback saw unbeaten Australia squeak home with only three balls to spare.

Smriti Mandhana added only 10 runs to the 216 she had previously scored in the tournament as she was caught by Lanning at slip to hand Darcie Brown her first wicket.

Megan Schutt was hit for six by the returning Shafali Verma before she too fell to Brown as Beth Mooney held on to a great catch in the cordon to leave India 28 for two.

Captain Raj joined Yastika Bhatia at the crease and the two went about rebuilding for India and they were helped by Ellyse Perry’s eventful first over.

The right-arm seamer conceded 10 runs from wides in a 12-ball over that added 16 runs to the total to help India move to 60 for two off 12 overs.

Both batters brought up their half-centuries off 57 balls before Bhatia had go for 59 from 83 when she sent one straight to Perry in the deep giving Brown her third wicket and ending the partnership on 130 runs, India’s highest third-wicket stand in ODIs against Australia.

Perry also pouched Raj who made 68 runs from 96 balls, Alana King taking her first wicket as India’s batters traded finding gaps for finding fielders.

Harmanpreet Kaur came out with a similar attacking intent to the last time these teams met at the World Cup – her blistering 171 not out taking India to victory in the 2017 semi-final – and Richa Ghosh was a willing partner as India reached 200 for four with 10 overs to go.

Ghosh was then stumped by Alyssa Healy for eight as King bowled a wicket maiden before Sneh Rana fell for a five-ball duck when she was clean-bowled by Jess Jonassen as India lost three wickets for 27 runs.

Only one more wicket would fall and it wasn’t until the final ball of the innings when Pooja Vastrakar was run out by Jonassen for 34 from 28.

It mattered little as she shared a 64-run stand with Kaur to help rescue India from a wobble and set Australia an imposing 278 to win, 20 more than they had knocked off against Sri Lanka in 2017, the previous highest chase at a World Cup.

Australia made a fast start to the chase taking 67 runs from the powerplay without loss as the bad balls were punished by openers Healy and Rachael Haynes.

Healy departed for a well-made 72 from 65 balls but could count herself unlucky after her reverse-sweep found Raj at midwicket who took a good catch to give Rana her first wicket of the game.

Suddenly there were two new batters at the crease as Rachael Haynes also departed for 43 from 53 balls, edging a short ball from Vastrakar into the gloves of Ghosh.

Australia were undeterred by the two quick wickets, however, as Lanning and Perry combined to put on another century stand in the game.

The pair reached 102 before the expected rain finally arrived and once the game resumed with a wide, Perry then had to go for 28 from 51 balls when she sent a Vastrakar full toss straight to Raj at cover.

Even Jhulan Goswami in her 200^th ODI could not stop Lanning who looked certain to make a century until an incredibly rare error on 97 gave Vastrakar a low catch off the bowling of Meghna Singh.

With eight needed from the final over, Mooney had the calmest head in Eden Park, completing the chase with three balls spare to move Australia into the knockouts.

Scores in brief

Australia beat India at Eden Park, Auckland by six wickets
India 277/7 in 50.0 overs (Mithali Raj 68, Yastika Bhatia 59, Harmanpreet Kaur 57 not out; Darcie Brown 3/30, Alana King 2/52)
Australia 280/4 in 49.3 overs (Meg Lanning 97, Alyssa Healy 72, Rachael Haynes 43, Beth Mooney 30 not out; Pooja Vastrakar 2/43)
Player of the Match: Meg Lanning (Australia)

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India advanced to their eighth ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup final with a comprehensive 96-run defeat of Australia and will face England in the showpiece.

Shaik Rasheed and Yash Dhull put on the second biggest partnership of the tournament, adding 204 runs for the third wicket after a shaky start for the Men in Blue.

Australia never got going in their reply to 290 as leading wicket-taker Vicky Ostwal took three for 42 with Australia eventually bowled out for 194.

They will now face Afghanistan in the 3^rd/4^th place play-off on Friday before the grand finale between England and India on Saturday.

India make Australia pay to reach fourth consecutive final

India got off to a slow start having won the toss and chosen to bat, openers Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Harnoor Singh added just 16 runs in 7.4 overs before the former was dismissed by a pearler from William Salzmann.

The right-arm seamer deceived Raghuvanshi with a length ball, the right-hander playing a shot but instead saw the ball uproot his off stump.

Singh would follow having made 16 from 28 before Shaik Rasheed and captain Yash Dhull put on a strong third-wicket stand, reaching their fifty partnership off 78 balls, one delivery into the second half of the innings.

Dhull then proceeded to find the boundary with increasing regularity taking advantage of wayward bowling by Salzmann.

The skipper was joined on a half-century by Rasheed as India passed 150 with just two wickets gone, the pair then passed 140 runs between them and as they did Australia missed a golden chance to end the partnership.

Salzmann found the ball in his hand with the chance to secure a near-certain run-out, the pressure told as the ball ballooned on its way to the stumps and India survived.

Dhull then brought up his first century for India, coming off 106 balls, with the 200-partnership following soon after.

Australia would then secure their run out, as Dhull was forced to go for a run-a-ball 110 before Rasheed was out the very next ball falling six runs short of his own hundred.

It did not get much better for Australia, however, as the final over went for 27 runs to see India post an imposing 290 for five.

The dangerous Teague Wyllie was out leg before wicket for just one run in the second over to hamper Australia’s chances further as they emerged from the powerplay only three runs ahead of India, who had yet to get going at that point.

Corey Miller would fall in the same way as Wyllie but not before putting on 38 from 46 balls to move Australia to 71 for two in the 17^th over.

Vicky Ostwal would then add to his tally as India’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament (now 12), dismissing opener Campbell Kellaway for 30 as he sent a drive straight to Nishant Sindhu.

It was now up to Australian captain Cooper Connolly to match his opposite number but could add only three runs as he top-edged a looping catch to Rasheed.

Instead, Lachlan Shaw was the man to try and steer Australia to an increasingly improbable run chase, but he could not find a partner as the next three batters fell cheaply to leave Australia on 125 for seven.

Australia’s first six came sooner than their opponents, in the 37^th over to India’s 44^th, but the very next ball broke their eighth-wicket partnership which had added 42 runs.

Milestones continued to bring dismissals, Lachlan Shaw going five balls after bringing up his half-century as Ravi Kumar took his second wicket.

Tailender Tom Whitney put up some resistance including crashing back-to-back sixes but was run out to signal the end of his side’s challenge for the title.

India’s victory means the two undefeated sides will face off as they take on England at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua and Barbuda on 5 February.

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