India face Australian juggernaut in quest for T20 World Cup semifinals

Who: India vs Australia
What: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Group A game
When: Sunday, October 13, 6pm (14:00 GMT)
Where: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
How: Follow Al Jazeera’s live text coverage
Defending champions Australia can book their place in the semifinals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup with a win against India on Sunday as they continue their search for a record-extending seventh title.
The Aussies top the group with six points, following three straight wins and a defeat is not likely to hamper their march to the semifinals, thanks to their far superior run rate compared to the other three aspirants from Group A.
India, on the other hand, simply must win to place themselves amongst the favourites for the semifinals. They currently hold the second spot, with two wins and one defeat from their three games, but a big loss at the holders’ hands could push them out of contention should New Zealand beat Pakistan on Monday.
Australia were dealt a double injury blow in Friday’s game against Pakistan with captain Alyssa Healy and Tayla Vlaeminck pulling unlikely to feature in the big clash with India.
Ashleigh Gardner, who was the player of the match against Pakistan, said her team will still go out and play the “fearless brand of cricket” that they have become known for but will be wary of a strong Indian side.
“India are one of the best T20 cricket teams in the world. So being able to switch our focus really quickly is certainly something that we’re going to have to do.”
Meanwhile, India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes her team will need to go into the match with a “strong mindset” and aim to get a win in the bag in order to strengthen their chances for a last-four spot.
“For us tomorrow’s game is important and we’ll try to play our best cricket,” Harmanpreet said in her press conference on Saturday.
“And after us, when New Zealand and Pakistan play, it’s not in our hand. We just want to keep things simple and just focus on tomorrow’s game.”
Australia lead the 34-match head-to-head record by a comfortable margin of 26 wins. India have beaten the Aussie juggernaut on eight occasions, with their last win coming in January at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
India managed to shake off their opening loss against New Zealand with a win over rivals Pakistan and the mauling of Sri Lanka. The women in blue would like nothing better than a win over the world champions to help them seal a spot in the semis.
Last five games: W W L L W
The reigning world champions can’t seem to put a foot wrong and entered this tournament on the back of a T20 series win against New Zealand. They have won all their matches in this tournament with ease.
Last five games: W W W W W
Both tournament venues have produced relatively low-scoring matches in hot and humid conditions.
While the Middle Eastern summer is on its way out, the team bowling first in Sharjah will still have to contend with sticky conditions.
Dew has not played a role in the tournament so far and will not affect the toss-winning captain’s decision.
India will hope their handy all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar will be fit to play their final game after missing the last two with an injury. Should she return to the playing XI, Sajana Sajeevan is likely to make the way out.
Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Yastika Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan.
Australia will sweat on the fitness of their captain Healy and fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck, both of whom limped off the ground in the match against Pakistan.
Squad: Alyssa Healy (captain, wicketkeeper), Tahlia McGrath, Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney (wicketkeeper), Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Tayla Vlaeminck.