In the semi-finals of Australia against South Africa, Ellyse Perry shed tears of joy as the defending champions moved forward with a win. The T20 World Cup semi-finals match on Thursday turned dramatic as Perry was overwhelmed with emotions after they won.
The All-rounder had suffered a hamstring injury on Monday at Junction Oval and was struggling to recover.
But while Perry’s dream of playing for the World Cup finals in front of more than 90,000 fans at the MCG will not be possible but her massive contribution to the matches she played in the world cup counts.
In the Thursday match against South Africa, which was shortened to 13 overs due to rain, Australia won by five-runs. This match was neck to neck and made Perry cry as they won.
She seemed very tensed and nervous in the dugout as South Africa played aggressively well. It was such a tough competition that made Perry worry even more emotional.
The more difficult the match, the better the sense of achievement and hence it made Perry weep with her teammates on the sidelines.
When asked to reflect on the special scenes after the match, Australia captain Meg Lanning spoke of the Ellyse Perry and the team efforts:
“She’s been great,” Lanning told reporters. “Obviously not able to have the impact she would have liked but she’s been really impressive around the group, just being really positive just giving off any bit of experience she can.
“She’s obviously been around the group for a long time and experienced a lot of these pressure moments so you can’t fault how she’s been around the group.
“Obviously disappointed to not be involved but it’s nice to still have her around and she’ll be playing a big role heading into Sunday.”
Australia will face India at the MCG on March 8 for the title of Women’s World T20 Champion, which coincides with International Women’s Day. These teams have already faced each other in the opening match of the World Cup, where India defeated team Australia. It was a heartbreaking defeat for the team Australia, who have won the title of the World Cup 4 times.
They came back strong as they won over against Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and South Africa after that. Against India, it will be a tough fight but they will give their level best performance.
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