India’s campaign at the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup came to an end after a six-wicket defeat to Australia in a must-win Group A clash at Lord’s in London on Sunday.

The loss meant India finished third in Group A behind Australia and South Africa, who had earlier defeated Bangladesh to secure a place in the semi-finals. It is the second successive edition in which India has failed to progress beyond the group stage, having also exited at the same stage in 2024.

Despite the defeat, spinner Deepti Sharma achieved a major personal milestone by becoming the highest wicket-taker in the history of women’s international cricket. Deepti claimed her 356th international wicket when she dismissed Australian opener Beth Mooney, surpassing former India pacer Jhulan Goswami’s tally of 355 wickets. Australia’s Ellyse Perry (336), England’s Katherine Sciver-Brunt (335) and Sophie Ecclestone (333) round out the top five.

Chasing 171 for victory, Australia recovered from an early setback to complete the chase with the help of unbeaten half-centuries from Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner.

Renuka Singh gave India the perfect start by dismissing opener Georgia Voll in the first over. Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield steadied the innings before India’s spinners struck, with Sree Charani removing Litchfield and Deepti Sharma dismissing Mooney.

However, Perry and Gardner combined for an unbroken partnership that took the game away from India, guiding the six-time champions comfortably over the line.

Earlier, captain Harmanpreet Kaur anchored India’s innings with a fighting half-century as the team posted 170/4.

Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma laid a solid foundation with a 66-run partnership. Mandhana scored 38, while Shafali made 34, but India’s scoring rate remained in check despite a few aggressive strokes.

Harmanpreet then held the innings together with a composed knock, helping India reach a competitive total. However, the target ultimately proved insufficient against Australia’s experienced middle order.

With South Africa already on eight points following their victory over Bangladesh earlier in the day, India needed a win to reach the last four. The defeat ended the Women’s in Blue’s World Cup campaign and extended their wait for a maiden T20 World Cup title.