The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has reached its most exciting point. The decision of the two teams reaching the semi-finals from Group A will now be taken on the last day (28 June). The Indian team, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, has kept itself in a strong position by winning three out of four matches so far, but the ticket for the semi-finals is not confirmed yet.
On Sunday (June 28), two matches will be played at the Mecca of cricket, Lord’s. In the first match, Bangladesh will face South Africa, while in the second match, India will face Australia. The results of these two matches will decide which team will reach the semi-finals.
The Australian team, which has won all four group matches, is standing at the door of the semi-finals with 8 points and an excellent net run rate of +4.724. On the other hand, India is in second place with 6 points and +2.268 net run rate. South Africa has also kept its hopes alive by defeating Netherlands by 88 runs. In such a situation, there may be a tough competition between India and South Africa for the second semi-finalist from Group A.
The best and direct path for India is to win against Australia. If the Indian team beats Australia then it will get 8 points. However, even after this the story will not end. If South Africa also beats Bangladesh, then both the teams will have 8 points each and the decision will be taken on the basis of net run rate. On the other hand, if Bangladesh defeats South Africa, then the Indian team can directly reach the semi-finals by defeating Australia.
What if we lose to Australia?
However, in case of defeat by Australia, India will remain on 6 points. Then the eyes of the Indian team will be completely focused on the match between Bangladesh and South Africa. If Bangladesh beats South Africa, India and South Africa will be on equal points. In such a situation, the net run rate will decide who will go to the semi-finals. But if South Africa wins, India’s journey will end here.
Considering the weather of England, the possibility of rain cannot be ignored. If the match between India and Australia is canceled due to rain, then both the teams will get one point each. That means India will get 7 points. In this situation, Team India will have to pray for the victory of Bangladesh. If South Africa wins its match, India will be out of the tournament.
The biggest positive thing for the Indian team is its net run rate. After the victory over Bangladesh, India’s net run rate has reached +2.268, which is better than South Africa. This is the reason why India can get an edge in many possible situations. However, the team management would not like to depend on any kind of mathematics. By winning against a strong team like Australia, India would like to get a ticket to the semi-finals on its own.
Now the biggest test of the Indian team is to be held at Lord’s. captain Harmanpreet KaurThere will be a big responsibility on players like opening batsman Smriti Mandhana, all-rounder Shefali Verma and middle order batsman Jemimah Rodrigues. At the same time, great performance will also be expected from the bowling department.
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