LIVE: India chasing 152 against Australia in key T20 World Cup match

Match Centre and Scorecard

India require 152 to beat Australia in a crunch match in Sharjah.

Renuka Singh (2/24) and Deepti Sharma (2/28) starred in a strong bowling showing from India, but the depth of Australia’s batting talent nevertheless steered them to an impressive 151/8 from their 20 overs.

Grace Harris, coming into the side in place of the injured captain Alyssa Healy, top-scored with 40 (41 balls), while there were valuable contributions through the lower middle order, with stand-in skipper Tahlia McGrath (32) and Ellyse Perry (32) the biggest contributors.

The story of Australia’s first innings

Earlier, Australia’s stand-in captain McGrath won the toss and decided to bat first against India at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

But it was India who enjoyed the better of the opening stages, as Renuka Singh struck twice in two balls to remove Beth Mooney (2) and Georgia Wareham (0) to leave Australia in need of a rebuild.

It could have been an even better start for India, with new opener Grace Harris appearing to edge a flick down the leg side, but Richa Ghosh not able to hold on as she moved across.

WATCH: Renuka's near hat-trick rattles Australia top-order | WT20WC 2024

But the rebuild did come, as Australia showcased their impressive batting depth.

The defending champions reached 37/2 at the end of the powerplay, with Harris and McGrath leading the recovery. And the partnership accelerated towards the midway point of the innings to leave Australia with a solid platform at 65/2.

WATCH: Grace Harris plays a brilliant hand with the willow | WT20WC 2024

A fine stumping by Ghosh off Yadav accounted for the dangerous McGrath (32 from 26), and Harris, up to a new role as opener, had played the longest innings in her storied T20I career when she eventually departed for 40 from 41, dismissed by Sharma.

But Australia’s long and talented batting line-up meant the quality kept on coming.

WATCH: Spinners strike back for India in the middle overs | WT20WC 2024

Ellyse Perry kept up the momentum with a fine 32 from 23 balls, while Ashleigh Gardner contributed a run-a-ball six before the scoring rate exploded at the back end.

The talented all-rounder Annabel Sutherland showed her quality with 10 from just 6 balls before being cleaned up by Shreyanka Patil in the final over, with Sophie Molineux (0) run out off the very next ball.

WATCH: Exciting final over yields back-to-back wickets | WT20WC 2024

Yet Phoebe Litchfield, who India thought they had dismissed when she reviewed an lbw off a reverse sweep, added a final flourish to boost the score to 151/8. Litchfield ended unbeaten on 15 from 9 balls, finishing with a six.

Injury issues in both squads

Statements were made by both camps about injuries prior to the start of the match.

Australia made two enforced changes to their team, with Harris and Darcie Brown replacing the injured pair of Alyssa Healy and Tayla Vlaeminck.

India also made two switches to their playing XI as Pooja Vastrakar returned at the expense of Sajeevan Sajana and Radha Yadav was a late replacement for Asha Sobhana.

A statement released by India revealed that the second change occurred just prior to the game, with the ICC Match Referee and Australia’s captain both agreeing to the switch.

“Ms Asha Sobhana is unable to participate in the today’s game against Australia after she suffered a knee injury during the warm-up on the sidelines of toss,” the media release said.

“Radha Yadav will replace Asha in the Playing XI. The ICC Match Referee requested the Australian captain who agreed to the request for a replacement in India’s Playing XI.

"The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring Asha’s progress.”

Australia confirmed that Vlaeminck has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament and captain Healy arrived in Sharjah on crutches ahead of the match.

Australia released a statement prior to the toss, stating that Healy could yet play a part in the tournament should Australia qualify for the knockout stages, with McGrath confirmed as captain in her absence.

"Tayla Vlaeminck dislocated her right shoulder during Friday night’s match," the media release said. "She will miss the remainder of the tournament, with all-rounder Heather Graham to come into the squad as a replacement player for Vlaeminck.

"Alyssa Healy is unavailable for tonight’s game after suffering a foot injury on Friday night. She will continue to be assessed over the coming days and should Australia qualify for the semi finals, her availability will be determined in due course.

"Tahlia McGrath will captain Australia in its final pool match against India this evening, with Ellyse Perry confirmed as vice-captain."

The Teams

India: 1 Shafali Verma, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 4 Jemimah Rodriguez, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Pooja Vastrakar, 8 Arundhati Reddy, 9 Shreyanka Patil, 10 Radha Yadav, 11 Renuka Singh

Australia: 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Grace Harris , 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Ashleigh Gardner, 5 Phoebe Litchfield, 6 Tahlia McGrath (capt), 7 Georgia Wareham, 8 Annabel Sutherland, 9 Sophie Molineux, 10 Megan Schutt, 11 Darcie Brown

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

Fans can purchase tickets online or directly at the stadiums, for more information on where to buy click here.