Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian team on Thursday suffered a five-run defeat in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. Australia scored 172/4, in response to which India scored 167 runs losing 8 wickets in 20 overs. Along with India’s defeat, the aggressive reaction of Shefali Verma is being discussed fiercely. Shefali lost her cool after taking a brilliant catch of Kangaroo opener Beth Mooney.
Mooney top-scored for Australia in the match. She scored 54 runs in 27 balls with the help of 7 fours and 1 six.
Indian players did not do better fielding in the semi-finals. Shefali gave life to Mooney in the 10th over bowled by Radha Yadav. On the fourth ball of the over, Mooney lifted the shot in the direction of long-on, after which Shefali dropped the catch. Not only this, Mooney also got a four. Mooney was on a personal score of 33 when Shefali dropped Mooney’s catch. Thereafter, Mooney fell to Shikha Pandey in the 12th over.
She handed a catch to Shefali at point on the fifth ball of the over. Shefali looked fuming after taking the brilliant catch and gestured for Mooney to leave the field. Also said some bad words. Many people wrote on social media that Shefali showed extreme aggression towards Mooney and abused her.
Talking about the match, the Indian team made a disappointing start while chasing the target. Shefali, who came in as an opener, was able to score only 9 runs after facing 6 balls. She hit a boundary. Smriti Mandhana’s bat also did not work. She scored 2 runs in 5 balls. Yastika Bhatia contributed 4 runs in 7 balls.
Harmanpreet scored 52 runs in 34 balls with 6 fours and 1 six. Apart from her, Jemima Rodrigues played an inning of 43 runs in 24 balls with 6 fours. As long as Harmanpreet and Jemima were at the crease, the hope of victory was intact but then the hopes were dashed. Both shared a 69-run partnership for the fourth wicket.