'We probably had no right to win': Ashleigh Gardner on Australia vs India match in T20 WC

The Indian women's cricket lost to Australia in the semifinal of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 by 5 runs and faced yet another heartbreak in the ICC events. Team India lost a closely-fought match and were totally in control till India captain Harmanpreet Kaur was at the crease. 

Harmanpreet Kaur was about to win the match for Team India until she got run out in one of the most bizarre ways possible. Australia's Player of the Match at one point said that their team didn't have the right to win the match at one point. 

Ashleigh Gardner after the match said, "I think at the ten-over mark in India's batting innings, everyone had probably written us off, but I think that just shows our character within our side and that's why the best teams win in those types of positions," she said.

Gardner said: 'We probably had no right to win at one point there'

"What we speak about is when our backs are up against the wall, we always try and find a way, and today we probably had no right to win at one point there. They were cruising and then we found a way to get some wickets and ultimately came out on top", Gardner said. 

Ashleigh Gardner also hailed Australia's fielding in the match and also praised Ellyse Perry for her fielding efforts, 

"We showed our class today in the field and we always speak about as a group being the best fielding team in the world, and I think today really showed that. Ellyse Perry was elite on the boundary. Whether it's dropped catches, [or] missed opportunities in the field, those ultimately add up to quite a lot of runs and I think we took those moments when we really needed to."

"I certainly think Pez is probably the blueprint for our side going forward - certainly on the boundary. At the end of the day, that could have been the difference between us and them", Gardner said. 

It is not the first time that Team India have been heartbroken at ICC events. Team India's streak of heartbreaks started from the 2017 Women's world cup when they lost to England in the final. Australia have defeated Team India in both the finals of the 2018 and 2020 editions of the Women's World T20.