Ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup 2023, Harmanpreet Kaur's India on Monday lost the warmup match against Australia. India, who are placed in Group B of the tournament, lost the practice game by 44 runs as the batting faltered in Cape Town.
The match turned out to be a low-scoring affair. India first restricted Australia to 129/8 and then got bowled out for 85 in 15 overs. The openers Jemimah Rodrigues (nought ) and Shafali Verma (2) got out cheaply. The middle order also did not show a good spark as the wickets kept tumbling. Harleen Deol and Deepti Sharma put up a fight but were sent back as Pacer Darcie Brown sent shockwaves into the Indian camp.
Earlier in the first innings, India got a great start when they sent three Aussie batters back with just 10 on the board. However, few crucial contributions came down the order to bail them out and put a decent total. Ash Gardner (22) and Beth Mooney (28) provided some resistance, while tail-enders Georgia Wareham (32) and Jess Jonassen's (22) got them over the 120-run mark. Earlier, India had lost the Women's T20 Tri-Series final last week against South Africa.
Harmanpreet Kaur's team is placed in Group B of the tournament alongside England, Pakistan, Ireland and West Indies. They will lock horns against the arch-rivals Pakistan on February 12. The Harmanpreet's side will look to repeat what their junior team of Shafali Verma did in South Africa a week back. India were the finalist in 2020 but fell one step short of the coveted Trophy against Australia. They will look to go one step closer this time.
India's Playing XI for the match vs Australia:
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Shikha Pandey, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Devika Vaidya, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Renuka Thakur Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Yastika Bhatia (wk)
Australia's Playing XI:
Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alyssa Healy (wk), Ellyse Perry, Jess Jonassen, Megan Schutt, Grace Harris, Tahlia McGrath, Alana King, Heather Graham, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland
