"We know the weak spot of Australia and we are planning against it" - India's Richa Ghosh ahead of Women's T20 World Cup semi-final clashΒ
Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh stated that India have a plan set in place against Australia ahead of their Women's T20 World Cup semi-final clash on Thursday, February 23.
The Meg Lanning-led side finished atop Group B following four dominant wins on the trot to set up a semi-final clash against the Women in Blue.
India, meanwhile, secured qualification into the knockouts following a win over Ireland in a rain-marred encounter. They bagged second place in Group A, with England finishing as the group toppers.
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In the recent past, Australia have proven to be a thorn for India. They defeated India in the final of the previous edition of the T20 World Cup, knocked the Women in Blue from the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup in 2021, and also beat them to secure a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Revealing that India have recognized Australia's weak spot and intend to exploit it, Richa said on the eve of the semi-final:
"We know the weak spot of Australia and we are planning against it but I will not say what that (weakness) is because then they will come prepared.
Richa also claimed that India intend to play an attacking game much like their Australian counterparts. She continued:
"They attack a lot. So, whatever happens to them, even if the batter is out, they don't leave the attacking. Because they have batters from top to bottom. We also have batter from top to bottom. So, we will play an attacking game."
Australia wrapped up their group stage campaign with a six-wicket win over South Africa. The Aussies are the defending champions and have won the Women's T20 World Cup title five times.
"Australia are beatable. They are a good side, but we can beat them" - Richa Ghosh
Richa Ghosh, who recently won the inaugural women's T20 U-19 World Cup under Shafali Verma, labeled the mighty Australian side as "unbeatable".
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The youngster, who has emerged as a reliable finisher for the Indian team, also added that the focus ahead of the high-octane encounter has been on improving the mindset. Richa said:
"Australia are beatable, in our last series we beat them and we have also done it before. They are a strong team but we can beat them. "We are trying to improve our mindset. Everyone has the game but the team that is mentally strong will win. We have been working on that."
Noting that it would be important to post a commanding total on the board or restrict the Australians with the ball to create pressure, Richa continued:
"We don't know how the pitch will behave tomorrow but it looks nice. We can target 180 on this if all our batters click and while bowling we will try to restrict them to 140-150 because they have a good batting line up."
The semi-final contest between India and Australia will be played in Newlands, Cape Town.
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