India Predicted Playing 11 vs Australia for Match 18 of Women's T20 World Cup 2024
India will lock horns with Australia in Match 18 of the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday, October 13. While the Aussies have virtually qualified for the semifinals, the Women in Blue are locked in a tense battle with New Zealand.
India have bounced back fairly well from their opening loss to the White Ferns. In their last encounter, they beat Sri Lanka by a comfortable margin, significantly boosting their net run rate. Harmanpreet Kaur and company seem to have settled on the right team combination, although some of that has been injury-enforced.
India's squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, D Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajeevan Sajana.
On that note, here is India's predicted playing XI for Match 18 of the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup against Australia.
Openers: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana
India's openers put on a 98-run stand in the last game against Sri Lanka. While Shafali Verma played an uncharacteristically sedate knock that featured just four boundaries in 40 balls, Smriti Mandhana started slowly before unleashing a wide range of strokes against the opposition spinners. Needless to say, their task will be much tougher against Australia.
Middle order: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, S Sajana
India have alternated between Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur at No. 3, and they could take a call on the spot depending on the game situation. They will take heart from the fact that the skipper blasted an unbeaten 52 in the last game, with her form being directly tied to the fortunes of the middle order.
The last two games have seen S Sajana replace Pooja Vastrakar, and India might just enjoy the batting depth that the selection move brings with it. Reports suggest that Vastrakar was fit for the Sri Lanka encounter, although having an additional bowling option against the Aussies might not be the worst idea either.
Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma, who have been off-color in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup so far, will need to turn their fortunes around and come up with match-defining displays.
Lower order: Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh Thakur
India are unlikely to make any drastic changes in the bowling department which is slowly clicking into gear. Renuka Singh Thakur and Arundhati Reddy will lead the pace attack, with Shreyanka Patil and Asha Sobhana giving Deepti company in the spin unit. Barring Deepti to a certain extent, all five bowlers seem to be in good rhythm right now.