London, June 28 (IANS) Australia captain Sophie Molineux hailed veteran all-rounder Ellyse Perry for backing up her confidence with a match-winning innings after her side completed the highest successful run chase in Women’s T20 World Cup history to eliminate India and seal a semifinal berth at Lord’s on Sunday.

Chasing 171 in a crucial Group stage clash, Australia recovered from an early setback to cruise home with six wickets in hand and an over to spare. Perry led the charge with a fluent 56 off 38 balls, while Ashleigh Gardner remained unbeaten on 53 as the pair shared the decisive partnership that ended India’s hopes of reaching the last four.

Molineux revealed that Perry had set the tone for the chase during the innings break itself, assuring her teammates that India’s total was well within reach.

“Pez (Perry) brought us in after the first innings. She said 170 is very, very gettable. Her actions speak louder than words. She went out there, led from the front alongside Ash, and set the tone with the bat. It was great to watch,” Molineux said after Australia’s victory.

The Australian skipper said the experienced duo executed the chase perfectly by making the most of the conditions and keeping the pressure firmly on India’s bowlers.

“They both batted beautifully. They made the most of the conditions, used their experience and skills really well, targeted the shorter boundary when the opportunities came, and ran brilliantly between the wickets. They just got all the little things right, and that allowed them to build a really important partnership,” she said.

Molineux also praised her bowling unit for restricting India after a strong opening stand and believed Australia managed the conditions smartly despite Harmanpreet Kaur’s late assault taking India to 170/4.

“There was plenty of discussion about the boundary sizes here at Lord’s. The shorter boundary down the slope, especially against the wind, was something we were very aware of. But I thought our bowlers did a really good job. There were a couple of expensive overs, but overall, the way Lucy started was fantastic, and everyone contributed at different stages. More than anything, I thought we used our cricket smarts really well, which was pleasing,” she said.

Although India reached 66 without loss during the Power-play phase, Molineux said Australia remained confident they could wrest back control through the middle overs.

“We’ve done a good job of taking early wickets throughout the tournament. Today it didn’t happen, but at the same time, we were able to keep things under control. We knew that even if we didn’t strike early or they got off to a decent start, we’d have opportunities to pull things back, and I think we did that between overs six and eleven,” she added.

Australia finished the group stage with 10 points to qualify for the semifinals alongside South Africa, while India’s campaign ended despite Harmanpreet’s blistering 56 and a competitive first-innings total.

–IANS

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