Women's T20 World Cup 2020: Tackling Poonam Yadav will be key against India, reckons Heather Knight
Being the only team to have won all their league stage matches, India is one of the top contenders for the Women's T20 World Cup title. One of the main factors why the Women in Blue cruised to the semifinals is their bowling line-up.
One name that stands out in their bowling attack is Poonam Yadav. The leggie produced match-winning spells against Australia and Bangladesh, picking up seven wickets in those two matches. England skipper Heather Knight has identified Yadav as a major threat from India's side and believes that England need to play her well if they are to beat their semifinal opponents.
“She’s (Poonam) a massive threat for them and is an improved bowler since the last World Cup, so for us to be successful, we’re going to have to play her and all their spinners well. That’s going to be key in the game,” Knight said ahead of the game.
Yadav's last outing against England at the same platform was not a great one as England managed to score 29 runs off her four overs without conceding any wicket. Knight believes that the performance against India in the 2018 semifinal (that they won) was a morale-boosting factor for them ahead of the high-pressure game.
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Ever since England lost to South Africa in the opening game, they began to treat every game like a virtual knockout contest and things have gone their way so far. Knight said that she has complete faith in her players and feels that England are at their very best when their backs are against the wall.
“The good thing about our team is that we’ve got a lot of variety, a lot of different skillsets bowling and batting, so we feel like we can adapt to any situation we’re thrown in to," she stated.