Women's T20 World Cup 2023: Predicting 3 players who will score most runs in India vs Ireland match
India Women will square off against Ireland Women in today's solitary Women's T20 World Cup 2023 fixture. It is the final group-stage match for both nations. Ireland Women are already out of the semifinals race, whereas India Women are one win away from sealing their place in the next round.
Ireland Women have lost their matches against England Women, Pakistan Women and West Indies Women on the grand stage so far. The Laura Delany-led outfit will play for pride today and will aim to end their competition with a consolation win.
India Women, meanwhile, beat Pakistan Women and West Indies Women but suffered a loss against England Women in their first three matches. They need to beat Ireland Women today to ensure a place in the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 semifinals.
Batters will hold the key to success for both teams in this contest, as the matches at St. George's Park have not been high-scoring ones. On that note, here's a list of the three batters who could end the match as the top run-getter today.
#1 Harmanpreet Kaur, India Women
India Women captain Harmanpreet Kaur was in great touch before the Women's T20 World Cup 2023, but she is yet to set the grand stage on fire in South Africa. She has scored 220 runs in her last nine T20I matches at an average of 36.66. However, in the three Women's T20 World Cup 2023 matches so far, Kaur has returned with scores of 16, 33 and four.
Ireland Women do not have the strongest bowling attack in the tournament, which is why today's match seems like the perfect opportunity for Harmanpreet Kaur to add a big score to her account. It will be interesting to see how the Indian skipper performs at St. George's Park.
#2 Smriti Mandhana, India Women
The vice-captain of India Women, Smriti Mandhana, returned to form with a fantastic half-century in the previous match against England Women. Mandhana scored 52 runs at St. George's Park and was the top run-getter across both the teams.
As mentioned earlier, Ireland Women's bowling is not the mightiest. Hence, Mandhana could smack a big score at the top of the order. In her previous innings against Ireland Women, the Indian opener scored a decent 29-ball 33.
#3 Gaby Lewis, Ireland Women
Ireland Women all-rounder Gaby Lewis has delivered the goods consistently for her team in the batting department. Lewis has aggregated 353 runs in her last 10 T20I matches at an average of 44.12 and a strike rate of 122.56.
Lewis did not have a great outing in her last innings against India Women. She scored nine runs off 19 balls in that game in the Women's T20 World Cup 2018, but the all-rounder has gained a lot of experience since then. It should not be a surprise if she is among the top-scorers in today's game.