ICC WWC 2017, India Women vs Australia Women, Preview: Semifinal spot in both teams minds in Bristol clash

India faces the stiff challenge of going head to head against Australia in the quest for a semifinal berth.

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Ekta Bisht of India
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Ekta Bisht of India celebrates. (Photo by Dave Thompson-IDI/IDI via Getty Images)

Both teams come into this game after facing their first losses of the tournament. While India were crushed by South Africa by 115 runs, Australia fell short by 3 runs to host and hot favourites England. The confidence of both sides will be down but a prospect of a semifinal spot can lift the morale of the sides.

India’s batting faltered in pursuit of a colossal target of 274. After reaching 47 for 1, a flurry of wickets had them on the mat at 65 for 7 after 20 overs. From that position, a win was impossible but the last three wickets added 93 runs to make sure that the Net Run Rate doesn’t get affected too much. The Indian bowlers were taken to the cleaners by Lizelle Lee, who smashed a 65-ball 92. The Indian bowlers did well to finish on a high as, at one stage, a total in excess of 300 looked very much on the cards. They need to erase this game from their memory and stick to their plans against Australia.

Ellyse Perry kept her team in the hunt by playing a spry knock of 70 but fell when Australia still needed 42 runs. The lower middle order struck crucial boundaries but was denied by just 3 runs in a cliff hanger game. Australia holds the advantage against India as they have beaten them 33 times and lost just 8 games.

Toss: Australia Women won the toss and opted to field

Mithali Raj: “We were looking to bat first because of the concerns in the top order. But it’s good we got to bat; there’s no pressure. In the previous editions, there were teams who were weaker, so you could make up your run rate. We are going with the same side.”

Meg Lanning: “We are gonna have a bowl; overcast conditions. Hopefully, we can take a few early wickets and put India under pressure. Bowling has done a good job for us, so looking forward to bouncing back. We are going with the same team.”

India Women (Playing XI): Punam Raut, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Mithali Raj(c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Sushma Verma(w), Jhulan Goswami, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav

Australia Women (Playing XI): Beth Mooney, Nicole Bolton, Ellyse Perry, Meg Lanning(c), Elyse Villani, Alex Blackwell, Alyssa Healy(w), Ashleigh Gardner, Jess Jonassen, Megan Schutt, Kristen Beams

 

Focus will be on:

Mithali Raj

The Indian skipper has batted at No. 4 in the tournament so far and might promote herself at No. 3, her usual position. She is just 33 runs short of overhauling Charlotte Edwards’ record of the highest run getter in Women’s ODI cricket. She hasn’t lived up to her lofty standards in this tournament and will be coming on the back of a golden duck in this game. Big stage often inspires big players to show their mettle and Mithali isn’t one to be bogged down by the enormity of this clash.

Ellyse Perry

One of the finest all-rounders the game has ever seen, Perry will be desperate to deliver the goods in this big game. Perry averages 83.67 with the bat after 5 innings and has 5 wickets in as many games. She will be the key player for Australia in this game. three consecutive fifties in the last game has seen his average soar to 50.00 after 88 ODIs.

 

Stat Attack

33 – runs required by Mithali Raj to become the leading run scorer in Women’s ODI cricket.

77 – runs required by Meg Lanning to complete 3,000 ODI runs. She will be the fourth Australian and 12th woman overall to achieve this feat.

7 – runs required by Jhulan Goswami to become the 8th Indian to complete 1,000 ODI runs.

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