In the end, having let go of a golden opportunity to beat mighty Australia, the Indian women’s team was left heartbroken. For a while, fired by a sensational opening spell by seamer Renuka Singh Thakur, who took a T20I career-best 4/18, India seemed to be on top of the Southern Stars in the opening clash at Edgbaston on Friday, having reduced them to 49/5 in the eighth over in pursuit of 155.
A huge upset looked to be on the cards when Renuka dismantled Australia’s famed top order of Alysaa Healy (0), Beth Mooney (10), skipper Meg Lanning (8) and Tahilia McGrath (14) in quick succession, leaving them tottering at 34/4 in the fifth over.