How can India make it to semi-finals of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 after losing to South Africa?
Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian cricket team lost their first match of the Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday. Women in Blue lost to South Africa in Manchester by six wickets. It was India who batted first and scored 158 on the board. Shafali Verma was the top scorer with 31 runs, while Deepti Sharma scored 29 runs.
In reply, the South African side lost skipper Laura Wolvaardt early for 20 and Annerie Dercksen for a two-ball duck. Marizanne Kapp and Tazmin Brits added 97 runs for the third wicket that took the game away from the Indian side. Brits was out after scoring 40 runs while Kapp was not out on 81 off 45 balls with seven boundaries and four sixes.
Group 2 points table after three games
Team Name | Matches Played | Wins | Losses | No Result | Points | Run-Rate |
Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +4.39 |
India | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | +2.51 |
South Africa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -0.54 |
Bangladesh | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -1.85 |
Pakistan and the Netherlands are already out of the race for the semi-finals, having lost their first three games.
India’s remaining games
25th June vs Bangladesh in Manchester
28th June vs Australia at Lord’s
What does India need to make it to the semi-finals?
The equation is pretty simple for the Women in Blue; they first have to win both their games, get to eight points and keep their spot safe in the top two of the points table.
If Team India can beat Bangladesh and lose to the Aussies, they will have six points. In such a scenario, they would hope that South Africa loses one of their final two games.
In case India lose both their final two games, they will be stuck on four points, and that would put AustraliaBangladesh and South Africa in the race for a spot in the semis.
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