T20 World Cup India Vs Australia Women Mumbai Miracle At Lords

“All set for Australia, one of our best oppositions. We’ll get a lot of confidence if we win that. Last win in Navi Mumbai gave a lot of confidence and broke barriers.”

Harmanpreet Kaur and her Indian side need no reminding of that magical October evening when the roof came off the DY Patil Stadium. Sunday’s must-win T20 World Cup clash at Lord’s gives them another chance to build on that belief. India have beaten Australia in two of their last three T20Is, but doing it again at a World Cup against the tournament’s form team will require their best performance yet.

India arrived in England with largely the same core that lifted the ODI World Cup, hoping the title would allow them to play with greater freedom. Instead, despite winning three of four group games, they have looked far from their best.

The opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma have been India’s biggest positive. The former has scored 167 runs in the competition so far, the joint second-highest by an Indian in a T20 World Cup group stage, while the latter has consistently given India brisk starts.

The problems begin after that. India’s desire to maintain a left-right combination has left the middle order in constant flux, with Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues alternating at No. 3 without either stamping authority on the role.

“I feel Jemimah did well at number three, and it will be good if she is there. It will give her more confidence,” former India player and coach Sudha Shah told The Indian Express.

The constant chopping and changing has also affected the rest of the line-up. Harmanpreet has moved between Nos. 4 and 5 and has looked scratchy through the tournament. It has also denied Richa Ghosh the consistent platform she needs in the finisher’s role. Against Australia, India cannot afford to keep searching for the right batting order.

If the batting has lacked stability, the bowling has depended heavily on the spinners. Sree Charani has been India’s standout performer, taking 12 wickets in four matches and regularly striking across phases. Deepti Sharma remains a key bowler despite a quieter run after her five-wicket haul against Pakistan, while the pace attack has lacked continuity, with Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud and Nandni Sharma being rotated without any consistency in selection.

The biggest concern, however, remains the catching. India have spilt 11 chances at this World Cup, with seven coming in the last two matches alone. Against a batting line-up as deep as Australia’s, such lapses could prove decisive.

Australia arrived in England facing questions after Alyssa Healy’s retirement handed Sophie Molineux the captaincy shortly before the competition. Those doubts have quickly disappeared. They have won all four matches so far and 14 of their last 16 T20Is overall, with their only defeats during that period coming against India in February.

“The thing about Australia is that they never let you settle. They are always attacking, always putting pressure. If you want to do well against them, you can’t be defensive. You must dominate and take the game to them, and our team enjoys that challenge. We know there is no other way,” Rodrigues told JioStar.

Their batting has continued to fire. Ellyse Perry has scored 127 runs, while Georgia Voll and Beth Mooney have played important roles. Australia have also crossed 170 batting first in each of their last three World Cup innings, showing how quickly they can put games beyond their opponents.

Molineux has led from the front with the ball. The left-arm spinner has become a key part of Australia’s Powerplay plans, taking a wicket in her first over in three out of four matches. She has six wickets at an average of nine and an economy rate of 4.50, making her a major threat to India’s opening pair. Leg-spinner Georgia Wareham has supported her with five wickets, while Kim Garth, Perry and Annabel Sutherland have ensured the pace attack has played its part as well.

Australia also carry history into the contest, having won their last three Women’s T20 World Cup meetings against India. Yet India’s recent bilateral success proves the gap is no longer as wide as it once was. Harmanpreet insisted India are focused more on themselves than their opponents on Sunday.

“We know Australia have great cricketers. They have world-class players in every department. But we don’t spend too much time thinking about them. We focus on our own skills,” she told JioStar.

Navi Mumbai showed India that they could beat Australia when the stakes were at their highest. Lord’s now presents a similar challenge. It may be a group-stage fixture on paper, but with a semi-final place on the line, it is a knockout in all but name.

Based in Mumbai, Shankar Narayan has over five years of experience and his reporting has ranged from the Ranji Trophy to ICC World Cups, and he writes extensively on women’s cricket. ... Read More

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