India at ICC Women's T20 World Cup: A Look at Women in Blue's Performance in Past Editions of Tournament

Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will fancy another summit clash entry when they kick off their Women's T20 World Cup 2023 campaign. The team is scheduled to meet Pakistan in their opening clash on February 12 at Newlands Cricket Ground. India Women is the only Asian side that made it to the Semi-finals and final of the marquee event. The Women-in-Blue have played 31 matches in all seven editions and won 17 while losing 14, making a win percentage of 54.83. The Women-in-Blue made it to the semi-final of the Women's T20 World Cup three times in 2009, 2010 and 2018 and were finalists for the first time in 2020. The runner-ups of the previous edition, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, will mark their eighth appearance at the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 to create a long-awaited history. Meanwhile, let's rewind back to all seven seasons of the Women's T20 World Cup to look at India's journey at the coveted event over the years.   ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 All Team Squads: Full Players List of Nations Participating in Twenty20 Cricket's Mega Event.

2009 (Semi-finalist): In the inaugural edition of the Women's T20 World Cup, India Women made it to Semi-finals. Even though the Women-in-blue faced a crushing defeat at the hands of England in the opening pool match by 10 wickets, India Women made a remarkable comeback winning back-to-back pool matches that followed. In the second pool match, India Women were to face their arch-enemy Pakistan. The Women-in-blue bundled Pakistan on 75 and later chased down the target in 17.4 overs to win the second pool match by five wickets. In their third and final pool match against Sri Lanka, India Women once again restricted the opponents to the paltry score of 94 and chased down the target in 16.5 overs to advance into the semi-final of the inaugural Women's T20 World Cup. India played semi-final number 1 but unfortunately missed reaching the final after facing a massive defeat by 52 runs at the hands of New Zealand, who became the first finalists of the competition.

2010 (Semi-finalist): India Women once again entered the semi-final in the second edition of the Women's T20 World Cup held in 2010. Following an opening pool match defeat against New Zealand by 10 runs, India Women made a fierce comeback against arch-rivals Pakistan winning their second pool clash by nine wickets. In their third and final pool encounter, India Women handed over Sri Lanka a thumping defeat by 71 runs, qualifying for the semis second time in a row. However, the dream of playing the final was again jolted as Australia Women sealed the first semi-final, defeating India by 7 wickets. ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 Points Table Updated.

2012 (Group Stage): After consecutive entry into the semi-final in the previous two editions, team India failed to make it happen on the third occasion as they lost three out of four group stage matches. In the opening group stage match against Australia, the Women-in-blue faced a defeat by eight wickets, followed by a second thrashing at the hands of England by nine wickets. By this time, India's chances of making it to semis looked diminishing. The team were thought to be favourites in their third-group clash against arch-rivals Pakistan. However, the unpredictability of the green shirts shocked India as they lost the match by one run and were out of the race to qualify for the next round.

2014 (Group Stage): India Women failed to advance into the next round of the Women's T20 World Cup for the second time in a row. India lost two out of four group matches and were kicked out of the race to Semi-finals. After an opening group match loss to Sri Lanka by 22 runs, Women-in-blue faced their second loss by 5 wickets against England. Despite two big wins against Bangladesh (by 79 runs) and West Indies (by 9 wickets) in the later half of the tournament, team India failed to qualify for the knockout round and were shown the exit door from the competition.

2016 (Group Stage): It was the third consecutive season of the Women's T20 World Cup in which India Women couldn't progress beyond the first round. Having won the opening group clash against Bangladesh by 72 runs, the Women-in-blue lost three group matches on the trot against Pakistan (by 2 runs), England (by 2 wickets) and West Indies (by 3 runs) as a result, India once again failed to make it to semis. ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 Schedule, Free PDF Download Online: Get T20 Tournament Fixtures, Time Table With Match Timings in IST and Venue Details.

2018 (Semi-Finalist): The three years of drought finally ended, as India Women found a place in the sixth edition of the Women's T20 World Cup semi-final. India evolved as favourites to win the title after sweeping all group-stage matches. In the sixth edition, India delivered their finest performance ever in Women's T20 World Cup history. Thrashing New Zealand by 34 runs, India defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets in the second group clash. The third group stage match saw India Women sealing the match against Ireland by 52 runs, before they moved to defeat another tournament favourite, Australia, by 48 runs. The convincing entry into Semis by India was eventually brought down to nothing by England Women who handed over India an 8-wicket defeat as Women-in-blue were out of the race for finals.

2020 (Finalist): To counter the state of denial after an unbelievable exit from the previous edition, Women-in-blue staged yet another similar performance; however, went a step further this time. After clinching all four group stage matches against Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, the Women-in-blue were to face England in their fourth knockout appearance. Bad weather played its part as the crucial match was called off without a ball being bowled. Since India Women were ahead with eight points compared to England's six points in the group stage, Women-in-blue qualified for the historic final, one which is still etched in every fans memory. India Women faced 85 run defeat at the hands of hosts Australia at Iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in front of over 80,000 people, the most in women's cricket history ever.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 14, 2023 08:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).