On the day, Lady Luck favoured the women of India, and they reached their maiden final in the tournament’s history without playing a single ball

In any sport, it is the skills and hard work of a team that overpower the opponent. However, on rare occasions, fate intervenes to alter the game’s outcome. On March 5, 2020, fate intervened in the semi-final match between India-W and England-W of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup. The result left many baffled in the world of cricket, but that was what it was.

The route to semi-final

In Group A, India shared space with Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Surprisingly, India won all the games and topped the group with eight points from four matches with a net run rate of 0.947.

On the other hand, England was in Group 2, along with South Africa, the West Indies, Thailand, and PAK. The English side lost one game against South Africa but won all the other games, settling in second place with six points from four matches.

Here's how the teams will be grouped for the @ICC Women's #T20WorldCup 2020 in Australia! What will the key match-ups be? pic.twitter.com/EOt8MC8NP4

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) January 28, 2019

Both India and England reached the semi-final, where they should’ve battled for a place in the final, but their fates were sealed in the group stage.

Not a single delivery

☔ MATCH ABANDONED ☔

For the first time in their history, India have qualified for the Women's #T20WorldCup final 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/88DHzqTbnK

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) March 5, 2020

Unfortunately, the match was abandoned due to a heavy downpour, and no reserve day was kept for the match in case of an abandonment. Given India had won all four games in the group stage compared to England, which had won three and lost one, the Women in Blue were sent directly to their first-ever T20 World Cup final against Australia. In short, fate favoured the Blues that day.

Clear frustration

"It would be nice not to have the jokes about English weather now." 🌦️

Captain Heather Knight keeps her smile despite England missing out on the final #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/WvKGwnIFzM

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 5, 2020

The decision clearly left the English side frustrated. Their skipper, Heather Knight, stated, “It's really frustrating, and not how we wanted the World Cup to finish for us. Ultimately, that loss against South Africa [in the group stage] has cost us. Our aim was to get to the semi-finals, which we did. It's all very English, talking about the weather, but it's frustrating not getting that chance to play for the final. Cricket hasn't been the finisher for us.”

India’s campaign

On this day in 2020, 86,174 people attended the Australia vs India ICC Women's T20 World Cup final at the MCG. pic.twitter.com/BU8okg7CSL

— Cricket Business HQ (@cric_businessHQ) March 8, 2025

The Women in Blue eventually lost on the day when it mattered the most. Despite defeating Australia in the group stage, India could not repeat the same performance against the Aussies in the final and lost the game by 85. The Baggy Greens had posted a target of 185 runs for India, but India’s women managed only 99 runs, losing all 10 wickets in 19.1 overs.

7️⃣5️⃣ runs
3️⃣9️⃣ balls
7️⃣ fours
5️⃣ sixes

Alyssa Healy's stunning 75 set Australia up for a huge total in the #T20WorldCup final and earned her the Player of the Match award.

How impressed were you with her knock?@oppo Clear in Every Shot pic.twitter.com/EuNVpyfZsG

— ICC (@ICC) March 8, 2020

Alyssa Healy won the Player of the Match for her 75 runs in 39 balls, whereas Beth Mooney was the Player of the Tournament for scoring 259 runs. For India, the loss turned out to be another key lesson, and five years later, the Women in Blue finally lifted their maiden ODI title in 2025 and are a strong contender to lift the T20 World Cup in 2026.