India are facing Australia in a must-win clash in Group A at the T20 World Cup 2024 in Sharjah. The Women in Blue are looking to stun the defending champions in their final league stage game as a slip-up can mean an early exit for the Indian team.
At the time of the toss, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur confirmed that she had made one change to the team that defeated Sri Lanka a few days ago. Pooja Vastrakar, who missed the last two matches, came back into the side for Sajeevan Sajana. However, after the toss, the Women in Blue were forced to make a last-minute change as Asha Sobhana was excluded despite being named in the Playing XI with Radha Yadav coming in for her.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shed light on the complete development. "UPDATE: Ms Asha Sobhana is unable to participate in today's game against Australia after she suffered a knee injury during the warm-up on the sidelines of the toss," BCCI said on Sobhana.
The Board then confirmed that Radha has been brought in after the Australian captain's approval. "Radha Yadav will replace Asha in the Playing XI. The ICC Match Referee requested the Australian captain who agreed to the request for a replacement in India's Playing XI. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring Asha's progress," the Board further added.
Meanwhile, Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. The Aussies are without their skipper Alyssa Healy, who is out due to a foot injury. All-rounder and vice-captain Tahlia McGrath is captaining in place of Healy. Speedster Tayla Vlaeminck is the other absentee as she has been ruled out of the entire tournament due to a shoulder dislocation.
The Aussie skipper confirmed the two changes at the toss. "We are gonna bat first, put up a score on the board and take it from there. This is our third game here, looks like a slightly better surface than the previous ones. No concern about injuries right now with all the focus on the game. We have two changes - Grace Harris and Darcie Brown are in," McGrath said at the toss.
Australia Women (Playing XI): Beth Mooney(w), Grace Harris, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath(c), Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown
India Women (Playing XI): Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur Singh
