INDW vs AUSW semifinal: India women and Australian women are all set to have a go at each other in the first semifinal of the Women's T20 World Cup 2023. The Women in Blue will face the defending champions Australia at Newlands, Cape Town at 6:30 PM IST. However, ahead of the match, India are facing major injury issues.
Team India face injury issues as captain Harmanpreet Kaur and all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar as the duo are reportedly likely to be ruled out of the semifinal clash. According to a report by Indian Express, the duo were admitted to a local hospital on the eve of the match due to illness and were discharged in the evening. The Women in Blue hope they will be available but the final call will be taken ahead of the match.
If Kaur will not play, Smriti Mandhana will lead India in the clash against Australia. Also, Harleen Deol can be drafted in place of Kaur as a batter. Meanwhile, the team also face fitness concerns about Radha Yadav, who did not play the match against Ireland due to illness.
Three years ago, India and Australia met in a high-voltage T20 World Cup final in Melbourne. Coming into that match, India defeated the Aussies in a group stage and the showdown clash was also expected to be a thrilling contest. However, the Aussies were way too good when it mattered the most and thrashed India by 85 runs to claim their 5th Women's T20 World Cup. Come Thursday, India women would want to overturn the outcome of their previous T20 World Cup meet.
Australia are world beaters. It goes without saying. In the 30 T20Is against India, Australia have won 22 and have gone down 7 times. Against all opponents since 2018, Australia have won 54 of the 63 T20Is. They hardly lose any game. Australia have lost just two official matches in any format since dropping a T20 game to New Zealand in March 2021. But note, those two defeats have come to only one team- India. The Women in Blue are a strong side and have many match-winners among them. They have improved from time to time have become a world-class team.
