Harmanpreet Kaur scored a superb 52 off 34 balls but that wasn’t enough as India lost to Australia by 5 runs in the semi-final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Cape Town on Thursday.

Chasing a target of 173, the Indians suffered early setbacks to be reduced to 28/3 in the fourth over but Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues (43) stitched together a 69-run partnership for the fourth wicket to steady the innings.

The India captain looked in good touch with her sizzling strokeplay. Like Jemimah, she too made good use of her feet to find the boundaries with good placement.

Harmanpreet, who was cleared to lead in the knockout match after being admitted to hospital on Wednesday with high fever, was unfortunately run out after her bat got stuck in the ground outside the crease. Her departure ended another fledgling stand with Richa Ghosh.

India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur is run out, as seen in a video grab on Thursday, during the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final in Cape Town. After completing her half-century, Harmanpreet’s bat got stuck in the ground while sliding it for a second run and Alyssa Healy was quick to break the stumps. The captain had earlier stitched a crucial 69-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues. Twitter

The Aussies were waiting for an opportunity and Harmanpreet’s departure opened the gates for Meg Lanning’s team. India needed 16 off the last over but Deepti Sharma’s best effort wasn’t enough.

“The way I got run out... can’t be unluckier than that,” Harmanpreet said at the presentation, battling to control her tears.

“We got the momentum back with Jemi (Rodrigues). To lose from here, we weren’t expecting this,” the India captain said. “Putting the effort was important and we were happy to go to the last ball. We wanted to fight till the last ball. “We played some good cricket. Today was something where we wanted to play our natural game. Few of us did that.”

Earlier, India’s shoddy fielding allowed Australia to post a challenging 172 for four in their 50 overs.

The bowling effort also left a lot be desired as Beth Mooney extended her envious record against India with a classy 54 off 37 balls.

One of the best power-hitters in the game, Ashleigh Gardner, hurt India with 31 off 18 balls while Lanning made 49 not out off 34 balls.

Opting to bat on a sunny Newlands, Mooney got the boundaries more regularly in their 52-run stand as she manoeuvred the field beautifully with her nimble footwork.

Written with PTI inputs

Today’s matches

■ 2nd semi-final: England Women vs SA Women, 6.30pm IST, live on Star Sports Network