London: Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, India (six points, net run rate of 2.268) will take on Australia in a virtual do-or-die Women’s T20 World Cup Group A match on Sunday (7:00 pm IST). If India improve their batting and fielding, they have a genuine chance of upsetting the six-time world champions and booking a place in the semifinals.
England have already secured a semifinal berth from Group 2 after winning all their league matches, while the West Indies edged past Sri Lanka on net run rate to claim the second semifinal spot.
However, defeating Australia (eight points, net run rate of 4.724) will be a formidable challenge.
Another crucial fixture will be played at Lord’s, where South Africa (six points, net run rate of 0.734) face Bangladesh (four points, net run rate of -0.849) in a Group 1 encounter beginning at 3:00 pm IST.
If South Africa defeat Bangladesh, India will have no option but to beat Australia to qualify for the semifinals. A defeat in that scenario would eliminate India from the tournament. Australia, however, would still qualify even if they lose to India because of their superior net run rate.
If Bangladesh upset South Africa, the pressure on India will ease. In that case, India could still qualify despite losing to Australia, thanks to their stronger net run rate compared to South Africa.
India’s fielding has been a concern throughout the tournament. The team has dropped six catches so far, with Radha Yadav accounting for three of them.
Also Read: Messi’s Magic Again: Argentina Looked Under Pressure, He Came On and Scored to Seal the Win!
-
-
-
-
