Australia beat India by nine runs in yesterday's ICC Women's 2024 T20 World Cup match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. With the triumph, the defending champions confirmed a first-place finish in Group A, winning four out of four matches.Batting first after winning the toss, the Aussies put up an impressive total of 151-8 on the board, aided by some rather sloppy fielding from the Indians. The Australians also put down a few catches, but their bowlers raised their game when it mattered the most and held India to 142-9.The Women in Blue got off to a reasonable start in the chase as Shafali Verma (20 off 13) hit a few crucial boundaries. However, she perished to Ashleigh Gardner, dragging a tossed-up delivery to long-on. India suffered another major setback when vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (6) was trapped in front following a missed attempt to heave left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux.Jemimah Rodrigues (16 off 12) looked good during her brief stay at the crease before pulling a short ball from Megan Schutt straight to the fielder at deep midwicket. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (54* off 47) and Deepti Sharma (29 off 25) lifted Team India, featuring in a defiant fourth-wicket stand of 63.Deepti's departure, however, proved to the turning point in the game. The left-hander hit a full ball from Molineux to deep midwicket. Richa Ghosh (1) was then run out by a direct hit from Phoebe Litchfield. Harmanpreet kept India in the hunt till the last over, but without any support. In an anti-climactic end, India lost four wickets in the last over as their skipper watched proceedings helplessly.Clinical Australia post challenging total on the boardBatting first, the Aussies lost Beth Mooney for 2 as she was brilliantly caught by Radha Yadav (last-minute replacement for injured Asha Sobhana) off Renuka Singh's bowling. The Indian pacer was on a hat-trick as Georgia Wareham (0) was trapped lbw with one that angled in.Stand-in skipper Tahlia McGrath (32 off 26) and Grace Harris (40 off 41) then featured in a crucial third-wicket stand of 62. The seasoned Ellyse Perry contributed 32 off 23, while Litchfield (15* off 9) and Annabel Sutherland (10 off 6) also chipped in with handy cameos.Litchfield slammed the last ball of the innings from Shreyanka Patil for a maximum over deep midwicket.Who was the Player of the Match in yesterday's India vs Australia Women's T20 World Cup 2024 match?Harris top-scored for Australia with 40, while McGrath and Perry also played crucial knocks. With the ball, Molineux and Annabel Sutherland picked up two scalps each.For India, pacer Renuka impressed with 2-24. All-rounder Deepti claimed 2-28 and also chipped in with the bat, while skipper Harmanpreet hit a valiant half-century.Aussie left-arm spinner Molineux was named the Player of the Match for her figures of 2-32, claiming the big wickets of Mandhana and Deepti.