India suffered a heartbreaking six-wicket defeat against Australia in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Lord's Cricket Ground on Sunday (June 28).

This outcome officially knocked India out of the tournament before the semifinals, allowing South Africa and Australia to advance from Group A.

The Women in Blue opted to bat first and put up a highly competitive total of 170/4 in their 20 overs, driven by captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s half-century (56 off 27)

In reply, Australia overhauled the 171-run target in 19 overs, marking the highest successful run chase in the Women's T20 World Cup history. The chase was anchored by aggressive half-centuries from Ellyse Perry (56 off 38) and Ashleigh Gardner (53* off 29).

Following India’s elimination from then marquee tournament, Harmanpreet stated that a late surge gave the team a fighting total against Australia, though she felt they were initially short.

She openly admitted that her team consistently fails to raise their standards when facing top-tier sides like Australia and South Africa.

“End of the day we got decent total on the board. In between when I was batting I thought we were a little short but last couple of overs did the job. They were looking for the runs but couldn't do so (the batters who struggled today). If I have to think about the entire tournament, we didn't do well against good teams,” Kaur said at the post-match presentation.

Reflecting on her knock, the Indian skipper remarked: “Against the best teams always your best comes.”

Harmanpreet said while India did not lose many early wickets, they also failed to score quickly enough. This approach left them chasing the game later as she praised the Australian bowlers for sticking to their plans.

“They're one of the best (on Australia). I think they bowled according to their plans. we didn't lose wickets, but at the same time we didn't get what we were expecting. It was a good game but unfortunately we didn't get over the line,” she said.

The captain lamented dropped catches and fielding lapses in earlier fixtures, while also highlighting a recurring pattern in crunch games.

“Those catches cost us (in earlier games) but today I think we were in the game. We didn't play to our standards. As a group we really need to rethink a lot of things, how we have to go against good teams, especially because sometimes, you know, we are in the game, but last few overs we've been giving heavy runs. And if we have to, you know, if we're chasing, then we are not able to get those runs while batting. So I think it's been happening for quite a long time,” Kaur concluded.