Even before the first ball was bowled, India were struck a blow in the form of seamer Pooja Vastrakar being ruled out of the semifinals with an upper respiratory tract infection. All-rounder Sneh Rana was brought in as her replacement.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, whose place, too, was uncertain, made the cut fit and ready to lead the side.
Australia skipper Meg Lanning won the toss and elected to bat first.
Australia got off to a good start with Alyssa Healy dispatching a half-volley from Renuka Thakur to four. Thakur came back strong conceding only 2 runs of the next 5 balls.
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With the ball not swinging much in Cape Town, Harmapreet decided to introduce Deepti Sharma from the other end.
Healy, as usual, was the more dominant opener, alongside Beth Mooney, taking the attack to the Indian bowlers, especially the in-form Thakur.
Indian fielders gave it their all, saving multiple boundaries, helping keep Australia's score to just 32 runs after 5 overs.
Mooney, then, hit the first six of the innings catapulting her team's total to 43 runs in the powerplay.
The pair brought its 50-run partnership in the first ball of the eighth over with both batters sharing 25 runs between each other.
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Radha Yadav got the breakthrough for India when Healy stepped out and took a heave at the ball, but missed it altogether, presenting Richa Ghosh an easy opportunity to stump her.
India's first missed opportunity came when Richa Ghosh dropped Meg Lanning off Sneh Rana.
Despite Healy's departure, Mooney continued scoring boundaries and rotating the strike to keep the scoreboard ticking. Shafali Verma dropped a sitter from Mooney, which could have brought India back in the game.
Australia's score: 69-1 from 10 overs.
