Women's T20 World Cup: India in must-win scenario versus Australia
What's the story
The 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup is reaching its climax, with the final league matches of Group B set to take place on Sunday. South Africa will take on Bangladesh at 3:00pm IST while India will face Australia (7:00pm IST). Both matches will be held at Lord's, London. The results of these matches will decide which two teams from the group qualify for the semi-finals. Here's more.
Match dependencies
South Africa rely on Australia against India
South Africa, the favorites to beat Bangladesh, are relying heavily on Australia's performance against India. Their poor net run rate has made them dependent on Australia winning their match. Tazmin Brits's one-word answer "Indeed" when asked if Sunday would be the first time South Africa would support Australia perfectly summed up the tense situation in Group B of the tournament.
Team dynamics
Australia almost certain to reach semi-finals
Australia are almost certain to make it to the semi-finals. Despite Phoebe Litchfield's absence due to injury, they have been dominant in the tournament. From four matches, they have won all four. On the other hand, India have struggled with their squad selection and performance. They have used all 16 members of their squad but still seem unsure about their best XI for this crucial match against Australia.
Squad adjustments
India's squad selection and performance issues
India's performance has been marred by several issues, including Yastika Bhatia's underwhelming stint at No. 3 and Shreyanka Patil's injury. They have also not trusted their fast bowlers enough to play her in all games. For this match, India may consider bringing back Bharti Fulmali in place of Bhatia but their choice of two fast bowlers remains uncertain.
Information
Points table and NRR
Australia are placed top of Group A with a 100% win record. Australia's NRR reads +4.724. India are placed 2nd with six points which is same as South Africa. However, India's NRR of +2.268 is better than SA-W (+0.734).
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H2H record between India and Australia
Australia have bossed the show versus India in Women's T20Is. From 38 matches, they own a 28-9 win-loss record with one game not having a result. In the global tournament, India own a 2-5 win-loss record over the Aussies.
Probable XIs
Here are the probable XIs
AUS-W probable XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux (captain), Alana King, Kim Garth. IND-W probable XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali/Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy/Nandani Sharma, Renuka Singh, N Shree Charani.
Players
Player focus: Here are the stats
In this ongoing T20 World Cup, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has scored just 85 runs from 4 games at a strike rate of 106.25 and is yet to hit a six. Australia's Ellyse Perry is closing in on 500 runs against IND-W. As per ESPNcricinfo, she owns 490 runs from 33 matches (23 innings) at 27.22 (50s: 3). India's Shree Charani has picked 12 wickets in the ongoing event.
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