After two weeks of action, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will end in the exact fashion it started – with hosts Australia taking on India in the finals of the tournament at Melbourne. India and Australia’s women’s teams have met in the T20 World Cup four times before with each side winning two games apiece. Here we take a look at few players who will be key to their team’s chances in the finals.
Shafali Verma
The 16-year old Shafali Verma has made rapid strides in international cricket and is now the highest-ranked T20I player in the world. She has had a stellar tournament for India with two Man of the Match awards and 161 runs at an incredible strike rate of 160. The joint fourth highest run-getter in the World Cup, Shafali has been responsible for giving India rousing starts at the top of the order and her dynamic batting could well decide the course of the finals.
Poonam Yadav
The top wicket-taker in the World Cup, Poonam Yadav has nine wickets at an average of less than 10 in the World Cup. The leg-break bowler has been used in an attacking role by India and has caused havoc in the middle overs with her googlies and other variations. Poonam was the Man of the Match when these sides met in the group stages and India beat the much-fancied Aussie side. Her spell and the middle overs she operates in could be a key phase of the finals.
Alyssa Healy
Mitchell Starc has flown back from South Africa to watch his wife, Alyssa Healy play the World Cup final. The Aussie wicket-keeper batter is a stunning player at the top of the order and thrives on starting quickly. Healy has 548 runs since the end of the last T20 World Cup in 2018 at an average of close to 33. Her role in the finals will be to take the attack to the Indian powerplay bowlers. Her start could dictate how Australia’s innings might go, particularly since they miss Ellyse Perry’s experience in the middle-order.
Jess Jonassen
While Australia are renowned for their pace attack and the hard, bouncy wickets they offer at home, a key element in their bid to win a sixth title is a spinner – Jess Jonassen. The left-arm spinner is long a part of the Aussie setup and had derailed the Indians with a five-wicket haul in the Tri-Nation Series finals last month. Jonassen will once again be banked upon to run through India’s brittle middle-order. She has dismissed India’s skipper thrice in T20Is and will be tasked with removing Harmanpreet Kaur in the finals too.