3 things India need to do right to beat Australia in Women's T20 World Cup semifinal
India Women will compete against Australia Women in the first semifinal of the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 today at Newlands. The two teams met in the Commonwealth Games 2022 final, where the Aussies came away with a win.
Australia Women also recorded a 4-1 win against India Women in a five-match T20I series on Indian soil last year. The Women in Blue will be keen to avenge the defeats they have suffered against Australia Women in recent years. However, it will still be a challenging task as India Women will be without their lead pacer Pooja Vastrakar.
Reports have even surfaced claiming that captain Harmanpreet Kaur is unlikely to play in today's Women's T20 World Cup match as well. India Women's squad will be depleted without Harmanpreet and Pooja, but they still have the potential to knock the defending champions out of the mega event.
In this listicle, we will look at the three things that India Women need to do right today to win the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 semifinal match against Australia Women.
#1 India Women need to build a big opening partnership against Australia Women
In a high-pressure match like the Women's T20 World Cup semifinal, the significance of the opening partnership increases a lot. If the opening pair builds a big stand for the first wicket, it sets a great platform for the middle-order batters and the finishers to take the team's total to the next level.
India Women's openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana are yet to build a big partnership in the Women's T20 World Cup 2023. While Mandhana has recorded two fifties in her last two games, her partner Verma has struggled to make an impact on the grand stage so far.
If the duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma set the stage on fire in Cape Town today, India Women will gain the upper hand against Australia Women.
#2 The Women in Blue need a strong finish
Irrespective of whether India Women are batting first or chasing a target, they will need a strong finish in the batting department. Richa Ghosh will have the responsibility of providing an excellent ending to the India Women's innings.
Ghosh has impressed fans with her handy cameos in the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 so far. She will have to play the best knock of her career to give India Women a chance of winning today's semifinal match.
#3 Taking wickets at regular intervals will help India Women win the Women's T20 World Cup semifinal
Dismissing the Australian batters cheaply will be key to success for India Women in today's match. Australia Women have one of the strongest batting lineups in the world. Taking one or two early wickets may not help India Women a lot if the other Aussies build a big stand.
The likes of Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh Thakur, Shikha Pandey, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad will have to scalp wickets at regular intervals to destroy the Aussie batting lineup.
In a group-stage match of the Women's T20 World Cup 2020, India Women bowled Australia Women out for 115 runs to defend a 135-run target. A similar performance will be needed today.