Win Against India 'One Of The Best': Jess Jonassen
Jonassen bowled the crucial 19th over [Twitter]
Australian spinner, Jess Jonassen has described the game against India as 'one of the best wins' of her Aussie career.
In a tight game, where the pendulum shifted more than once, defending champions, Australia held their nerves and clinched a 5-run win to seal their place in the finals of the Women's T20 World Cup.
Chasing a tricky 173, India lost three early wickets, but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues started the counter-attack to rattle the Aussies. Harmanpreet continued her love-affair with the Australians, as she scored yet another fifty in the knockout stages against them, but her run-out changed the complexion of the game.
At one point, India needed 20 off the last two overs and they had the momentum with them. But Jonassen, who bowled the penultimate over turned the tides by giving away just four runs, and picked up the crucial wicket of Sneh Rana. She took the pressure of Ash Gardner, who bowled the last over and restricted India to 167 for 8.
Talking about the close-contest, Jonassen was delighted with the win and stated that she relished the opportunity to bowl the penultimate crucial over of the contest.
"My clarity of thought in that over was so clear and I just knew where I wanted to bowl the ball, where I wanted it to land," Jonassen told ABC Sport.
"I just wanted to try and give Ash as many runs [for India to chase] as possible for that last over. I really enjoy bowling in those moments," she added.
Jonssen added that self believe and calmness under pressure was the key for the Aussie success on Thursday.
"If we stayed calm in those big moments then we were more likely to win those."
Australia will take on South Africa women in the finals of the T20 World Cup on Sunday. The defending champions will be gunning for their sixth World T20 title.
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