Deja Vu! Harmanpreet Kaur's run out reminds netizens of MS Dhoni's dismissal vs NZ in 2019 ODI WC

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Cape Town, Feb 23: The Indian Women's Cricket Team once again faltered in the knock-out stage against mighty Australia in the first semi-final of the ongoing ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 here on Thursday (February 23).

In the big run chase of 173, the Indians could only muster 167 with the loss of eight wickets. The Women in Blue were at one stage cruising in the run chase but the freak run out of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur opened the floodgates for India.

Harmanpreet - who was in her element in the high-pressure game - was looking to take her team home and guide them to the final and keep their hopes of lifting the maiden trophy alive.

The right-handed batter from Punjab notched up her tenth T20I half-century and kept the Australians on the backfoot with her presence in the middle. Harmanpreet, who was a doubtful starter for the do-or-die game due to high fever, got going with a crisp six over long-on off Jess Jonassen.

Harmanpreet (52 off 34) and Jemimah Rodrigues (43 off 24) produced a counter-attacking 69-run stand off just 41 balls to bring the team back in the game. Harmanpreet, who is known to bring out her best against the Aussies, looked at her vintage best with her sizzling strokeplay.

She got to her fifty with back-to-back fours off Wareham in the 15th over before a freak run-out brought another twist in the game.

It was a comfortable double but on way to completing the second run, Harmanpreet's bat got stuck in the ground and Alyssa Healy was quick to take the bails off with the Indian out of the crease. It was the turning point of the game.

With the set batter back in the dugout, the rest of the lower middle-order batters failed to take their team to the winning line.

Harmanpreet's dismissal reminded the fans of another heartbreak for Indian fans when MS Dhoni was runout at a critical juncture of the ICC ODI World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand. India lost the match by 18 runs against the BlackCaps.

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag compared the two heartbreaks and shared his agony on social media.

Sharing the images of both the run-outs of potential match-winners of Indian cricket, Sehwag tweeted, "Match winner at the crease and Run out in a semi-final. We have had this heartbreak before. Sad to see India out. Were running away with the game but Australia proved again why they are a v difficult side to beat. Well tried girls #INDWvAUSW."

#JemimahRodrigues looked like taking the game away but the Aussies fought back brilliantly & in the end, India have fallen short. Harmanpreet's runout was the turning point & India will be disappointed to miss out on the finals," tweeted former India cricketer VVS Laxman.

BCCI Honourary Secretary Jay Shah, tweeted, "A tough loss for @BCCIWomen against Australia in the #ICCWomensT20WorldCup, but we couldn't be prouder of our girls for their spirit on the field. The team gave it their all & showed that they are true warriors. We stand with you, Women in Blue! #INDWvsAUSW."

Senior commentator Harsha Bhogle tweeted, "To run this Australian juggernaut so close is extremely promising. Hence my optimism that the last step may not be too far away."