The last time India met Australia at the Women's World Cup, in 2017, an epic innings from Harmanpreet Kaur eliminated the latter at the semi-final. Nearly five years later, Australia look even stronger, and no team has come close to even to challenge them. Since that semi-final, they have won 35 out of 37 matches. But then again, it was India who broke their 26-match winning streak last year.
India will want to do an encore. Two wins and two defeats can be called, at best, a par performance. India have been too dependent on Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet. The poor form of Mithali Raj has been a deterrent. After Australia, they have two matches, against Bangladesh and an in-form South Africa. A defeat against Australia will put them under pressure, and they will depend on other results to qualify.
After the debacle against England, they may look to bring another batter, in Shafali Verma, and play Yastika Bhatia at No. 3. This will mean that one of their all-rounders needs to be dropped, which can affect their bowling combination. It can be tricky.
There is no such problem for Australia. Almost all their players are in form. They even have the luxury to experiment with combinations. Alyssa Healy, Rachael Haynes, Beth Mooney and Meg Lanning are all in good batting form, and can challenge the Indian bowlers. Their bowlers are also quite capable to run through any batting line-up. Above all, they have three of the world’s best all-rounders, in Ellyse Perry, Ash Gardner and Tahlia McGrath.
Likely XIs
India: Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
Australia: Alyssa Healy (wk), Rachael Haynes, Meg Lanning (c), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Ash Gardner, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown, Jess Jonassen.
Fantasy Tips
- The Australian players are in good form, and are better picks than the Indians.
- Among batters, Lanning, Haynes and Mandhana can be handy options.
- For all-rounders, it will be a challenge to fit in key players like Perry, McGrath and Gardner. Among Indians, there are options in Rana and Sharma.
- Among bowlers, experienced players like Schutt, Goswami and Jonassen should be the preferred players.
Fantasy XI
Alyssa Healy (wk); Meg Lanning, Smriti Mandhana, Rachael Haynes; Ellyse Perry (vc), Tahlia McGrath (c), Sneh Rana; Megan Schutt, Jess Jonassen, Jhulan Goswami, Rajeshwari Gayakwad