ICC Women's World Cup 2017: 5 things that India did right in their victory against Australia

The Indian eves scripted history tonight in Derby as a 38 run victory over Australia in the semi-finals mean that they are now in the final of the ICC Women's World Cup. The player who took the game by the scruff of its neck and delivered a knockout blow to the Aussies was Harmanpreet Kaur. The all-rounder scored an unbeaten 171 in the first innings to help India reach 281 in a rain-marred match which was eventually reduced to 42 overs per side.

Australia put up a valiant fight as a result of brilliant efforts by Elyse Villani and Alex Blackwell but it proved to be short in the end by a margin of just 38 runs. The Indian fast bowlers picked up wickets at the start with the defending champions having no answer to Harmanpreet Kaur in the first inning and then to an onslaught from their bowlers in the first 10 overs.

The win meant India will play in their second ever Women's World Cup final where they will now face England at the Lord's on Sunday. On that note, here are the five things India did right to script a famous win over the mighty Aussies:

---

#5 Inspiring bowling changes

Throughout the course of the tournament, Mithali Raj's captaincy has often come under the spotlight. She has been criticised for not being proactive on the field with her field placements and her bowling changes. But this was not the case against the defending champions with Raj being absolutely spot on with her decisions as her changes in the middle overs tilted the game in India's favour.

As soon as the partnership between Elyse Villani and Ellyse Perry crossed the 100-run mark, Raj brought on her trump card in the form of Rajeshwari Gayakwad. The leg spinner took the all-important wicket of Villani before another bowling change saw Shikha Pandey claim Perry's golden wicket.

Extra cover: Who said What: World reacts as India defeat Australia to reach World Cup final

The decision to bring Deepti Sharma as the first change bowler also paid dividends as she dismissed Nicole Bolton in the first powerplay. All these bowling changes worked wonderfully in India's favour with Raj managing her bowlers wonderfully without the services of Harmanpreet Kaur in the second innings.

#4 Early strikes to set the tone

Shikha Pandey was India's most economical bowler

If any team in women's cricket looked capable of chasing down such a huge score, it was the Australia eves. After all, the Aussies had the likes of Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Nicole Bolton in their top order who could be termed as the best batters in the business. India needed a strong start with the ball to have a real chance in the game and the bowlers delivered when it mattered the most.

Shikha Pandey castled Beth Mooney on just her second ball of the game and gave a perfect start to the Indians. Jhulan Goswami then bowled the ball of the tournament against Meg Lanning which left her bamboozled as her off stump went for a walk after a peach of a delivery.

Goswami also gave the world's number one batter a proper send off after taking her wicket. Deepti Sharma followed suit and made it three for the Indians in the first powerplay with a caught and bowled catch of the dangerous Nicole Bolton.

#3 The partnership between Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma

Kaur acknowledging the crowd after reaching 150

After the openers flopped, Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur had a huge task at hand. They had to resurrect India's innings and they managed to do that with success. But it came at a price. Raj was typically slow to get going while Kaur was cautious at the start and did not want to take unnecessary risks.

India's batting looked to be going nowhere with the duo in the middle scoring at a rate of below 4. But after Raj was dismissed, Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur formed a solid partnership which gave India a springboard to achieve a mammoth total of 281.

Kaur played the role of an aggressor whereas Sharma thought it was best to rotate strike and she did that with perfection. They formed a stellar partnership of 137 runs in just 81 balls which proved to be the catalyst for India's famous win. Though Kaur was unforgiving on the Aussies, it was her stand with Sharma which helped her to break the shackles and reach a record breaking score.

#2 The brilliance of the fast bowlers

Pandey castled Beth Mooney in her first over

Coming into this game, India's bowling strong point was their spin attack. Their spinners had taken the majority of the wickets whereas the pacers had not performed as per the expectations. But the County ground had some purchase for the pacers which was exploited beautifully by the duo of Shikha Pandey and Jhulan Goswami.

Both took two wickets each and guided India to the World Cup final because of another impressive bowling performance. Wickets in the first powerplay by these two helped India gain an upper hand in the game whereas their second spells also saw them clinching crucial breakthroughs. The dangerous Perry was scalped by Pandey whereas Goswami managed a brilliant run out of her own bowling to dismiss Jess Jonassen.

#1 A special knock by a special player

Harmanpreet Kaur played as if there's no tomorrow

Sensational. Brutal. Hard hitting. Timely. These are just some of the words that can be used to describe the knock that was on display last night by a batter who is playing her third World Cup. Harmanpreet Kaur played one of the best knocks that has ever been witnessed in women's cricket. Kaur smashed the Aussies left, right and centre to reach a mind numbing score of 171* in just 115 balls.

Her supernatural knock had all the makings of a performance which will be remembered not for years, but for decades. Such knocks come once in a few years and it is safe to say that Kaur's 171 is right up there with Kapil Dev's 175 in the 1983 World Cup. Her clean hitting was absolutely top notch and it was a sort of an inning which often inspires a team to punch above their weight - like India did yesterday.

Off the last 40 balls she faced last night, Kaur managed a mammoth score of 103 runs (at a strike rate of 257.75) and in turn achieved the highest ever score in a World Cup knockout game.