Defending champions Australia qualify for T20 World Cup semi-finals

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Australia won each of their first three matches in Group A of the tournament, and sealed their place in the semi-finals midway through the second innings against India on Sunday.

The defending champions knew that a win would guarantee them a spot in the semi-finals, but the required net run rate scenario to deny them a top-two finish in Group A reached a mathematical impossibility midway through India’s chase in Sharjah.

Australia have won the tournament six times in their history and are targeting a four-peat having triumphed in each of the three previous editions – in 2018, 2020, and 2023.

But they do have some fitness concerns this time around, not least to captain Alyssa Healy, who was on crutches watching on from the stands in Sharjah on Sunday.

Healy’s side look in phenomenal form in the UAE, having already cruised to wins over Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan prior to the meeting with India.

However, the skipper herself said prior to the tournament that the campaign isn’t a matter of defending the title, but winning an entirely new competition against the world’s best.

"You don't come here to defend the title, that's not what the World Cup is about, you come here to win it," she said prior to the start of the tournament.

"It feels like, without being disrespectful, we have been hunted for a long period of time. "We're constantly being asked about that, and we're used to it now. Teams are coming really hard at us to put us under the pump which we love.

"This World Cup is going to be no different. We know what the other nine are going to throw at us given the opportunity. We see it as a challenge and an opportunity to showcase a brand of cricket we like playing."

Australia will face an opponent from Group B in the semi-finals, with England, West Indies and South Africa in contention to qualify.

All matches at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 will be held in the two host cities of Dubai and Sharjah.

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