When India play six-time champion Australia in their final Group A match at Lord’s in London on Sunday, they will be keen to overcome their batting and fielding problems in order to advance to the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals.
The group’s semi-final lineup will be decided by the two matches of the day, with South Africa (6 points) playing Bangladesh (4) at Lord’s and India (6) playing undefeated Australia (8).
India’s match against Australia is anticipated to turn into a simulated quarterfinal for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team due to South Africa’s dominant head-to-head record (9-2 in 12 matches) against Bangladesh.
India would need to defeat Australia to qualify if the Proteas, the past edition’s finalists, win as expected; a loss will eliminate them from the T20 World Cup. With eight points and a much higher net run rate of 4.724, Australia, on the other hand, can still afford to lose and advance.
Even in a loss, Kaur’s team could still make it to the round of four provided their net run rate of 2.268 is still higher than South Africa’s current 0.734, thus an unlikely upset by Bangladesh would relieve pressure on India.
But for Harmanpreet Kaur’s team, who have struggled with one problem after another this campaign, it will be nothing less than a test of character. The form of India’s openers was a worry at the start of the competition.
However, despite the strong responses from Smriti Mandhana (167 runs) and Shafali Verma (145), India’s middle order, which included captain Harmanpreet (85) and Jemimah Rodrigues (58), frequently failed. India’s fielding nose plummeted when they struggled with the issue, especially in the last two games when they have lost six catches as a team.
India defeated Bangladesh by five wickets to stay afloat despite dropping four catches, but they lost one of those games—against South Africa.
Thus, the Indian think tank, under the leadership of Harmanpreet and head coach Amol Muzumdar, would be aware that making such mistakes would prevent them from making a comeback against an unbeaten Australia.
India’s fielding in the last two games has been so bad that there is no clear explanation for it. Three of the six catches, including two against South Africa, have been dropped by Radha Yadav, who has often been a superb fielder.
India’s victory over Australia in the ODI World Cup semi-final last year, where Jemimah’s innings of a lifetime helped them surpass the final frontier and placed them on the route to their first-ever global title victory, would surely serve as inspiration.
India is dependent on the left-arm spinner due to Shree Charani’s form, who has already claimed 12 wickets in four games. However, the team also wants the other bowlers to bowl well around her, which has once again been a talking point due to the bowlers’ lack of cohesiveness.
When Australia play India, they will be confident in their abilities and focused on the semi-final. Phoebe Litchfield, who particularly enjoys batting against India, is expected to help Australia in this match after missing three World Cup games owing to a calf injury.
Teams (from):
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (w/k), Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Renuka Singh Thakur, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani, Radha Yadav
Australia: Sophie Molineux (Captain), Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney (w/k), Georgia Voll, Tahlia McGrath (vice-captain), Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Megan Schutt, Georgia Wareham
