India reach Women's T20 WC final for 1st time after semi vs England washed out

Cricket Desk: India advanced to the final of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time after heavy rains washed out the semi-final against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday. It had been raining since Thursday morning and it showed no sings of slowing down as the umpires and the match referee decided to call off play around 10:44 IST. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women’s cricket team have advanced to the final because of their higher standing at the end of the group stages. India finished on top of Group A after winning all their 4 matches while England finished at No.2.

10:56 hrs: “It is unfortunate not to get a game due to the weather. But that’s how the rules go. In future, it would be nice to have a reserve day. From day one, we knew that we have to win all the games because if in case we don’t get any play in the semi-finals, it will be hard for us. Credit to the team, we wanted to win all the games and we did it,” said India captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

10:54 hrs: “Frustrating, didn’t want the World Cup to end this way but not much you can do about this. Would have been good to have a reserve day perhaps. That loss to South Africa cost us. Not really, we expected to reach the semi-finals and that we did. Undone by the weather. Did feel like we had started to gain momentum in recent games and we were really ready for this semifinal. Yes, Sarah Glenn and Sophie (Ecclestone) have been great. So has been Mady. Not starting a tournament great has been a concern, so perhaps we can work on that (smiles),” said England captain Heather Knight.

10:51 hrs:India will play their first final at ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Their opponent will in all probability be South Africa as the second semi-final between them and Australia is also slated to take place at SCG, where it is still raining.

10:44 hrs: MATCH CALLED OFF. India advance to the final of the T20 World Cup for the first time in the history of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.