AUSW vs INDW, T20 World Cup 2023: Harmanpreet Kaur and co. are all set to take on Meg Lanning's mighty Australian team. The Aussies have been nothing but a nemesis for the women in blue. Australia defeated India in the finals of the Women's T20 World Cup final that was played in 2022 and then they inflicted yet another defeat on India in the finals of the Commonwealth Games in 2022. Australia are the defending champion of the title and are currently unbeaten in the tournament.
India on the other hand have won three out of their four league game. The Women in Blue defeated Pakistan, West Indies, and Ireland but failed to defeat Heather Knight's England. Smriti Mandhana with 149 runs from 3 games is the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament. The Indian vice-captain is averaging 49.67 as of now and has scored with a strike rate of 143.27. Right behind Mandhana, is Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Alyssa Healy who has scored 146 runs in the tournament so far. The match will be played at Newlands, Cape Town, and India will be wary of the challenge that they have at their disposal.
The pitch at Newlands, Cape Town
The turf at Newlands, Cape Town has had this reputation of assisting bowlers, especially pacers. Undoubtedly, the seamers from both sides will have a major role to play in the match. The deck is bound to offer some extra bounce and zip. Apart from the pacers, the spinner too will have some decent purchases from the surface. The batters will have to be cautious and will have to survive the initial spell. Once the batter is set, she can capitalize on the bounce and score runs.
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It is safe to say that this particular venue is not a very pleasant place to play cricket as far as women's cricket is concerned. Only 5 women's T20Is have been played on this venue so far and the average 1st innings score on this venue has been just 129 runs. Out of all the 5 matches that have been played, three have been won by the side batting first.
A view of Newlands, Cape Town
Women's T20I statistics
- Matches played: 5
- Matches won by teams batting first: 3
- Matches won by teams batting second: 2
- Tie: 0
- Average score while batting first: 129
- Highest Score: India Women 166/4
- Lowest Score: Sri Lanka Women 90/8
India women's squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey.
Australia women's squad: Meg Lanning (c), Alyssa Healy (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham
