'A reward': Harsha Bhogle enters debate on India reaching WC Final after England washout

Harsha Bhogle came forward to congratulate the Indian women's team after they qualified for their maiden ICC Women's T20 World Cup final on Thursday. Their semi-final match against England was washed out due to rain and since the play did not start at a stipulated time, the Women In Blue sailed through to the summit clash without a ball being bowled. This happened because India had won all their four league games coming into this knockout clash whereas, England had lost their first match against South Africa, and that according to Bhogle is what made the difference.

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'A reward for topping the table': Harsha Bhogle

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Harsha Bhogle wrote that it was not an ideal way of making it to the final but it is a reward for topping the table and playing outstanding cricket. He also mentioned that it was very special to beat strong teams like defending champions Australia and New Zealand.

In his earlier tweet, the 'Voice of Indian Cricket' had mentioned that 11.06 is the cut-off time for the toss. and should it continue raining then India would qualify for the finals by virtue of topping their group. The veteran commentator also added that it might seem harsh on England but but this is a reward for India for playing better cricket in the early stages of the competition.

The turning point in England's campaign 

England had only lost their tournament opener against South Africa while they won their remaining three games. However, that loss turned out to be a huge turning point as it went on to halt the former champions' progress in this tournament. 

This had happened on the third ball of the game's final over. Brunt came charging into bowl and during her run-up, Sune Luus, who was at the non-striker's end walked a long way out of her crease. This had come to the bowler's notice during her run-up after which she stopped and went near the stumps. Surprisingly, she did not dislodge the bails and instead gave a warning to the batter. However, her act of kindness backfired as Mignon du Preez who was the batter at the striker's ended up hitting the six and it sealed the match in the Proteas' favour with just 1 requiring off three balls. Preez completed the formalities as South Africa registered a six-wicket win.

Had Brunt ran out Luus then the scenario could have been completely different as South Africa would have felt the pressure of losing an extra wicket at a crucial juncture.

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