🏏AustraliaW vs South Africa Women, ICC World Cup Final: Page-11 - Page 2

Wishing Team India

All The Best and Good Luck 👍🏼

Ins and Outs: Pooja Vastrakar has been ruled out of this game due to an illness. Sneh Rana has been named the replacement. Harmanpreet, too, has been reportedly ill yesterday, but the good news is that the Indian skipper is at the ground and is highly likely to be part of the playing XI. As for Australia Alyssa Healy (missed out last game) is fit and raring to go. No injury scare in the Aussie line-up.

If it wasn't for Richa's 13-ball 26 in India's latest win (tied game - won in super-over) against Australia (11 December 2022), the Aussies could have remained undefeated in 2022 and would have been on a 22-match winning streak by now. Today, India not only need Richa, but they need every inch of intensity from all eleven players to stop the Australian juggernaut.

Australia did settle scores with the Asian giants after thrashing them at the World Cup final at the MCG in 2020, and also denied India a Gold medal at the Commonwealth games in August 2022. The Aussies are bloody good, aren't they? How to stop them? The epitome of fearless batting in the current Indian line-up, Richa Ghosh (spoke on the eve of the game), has an answer: "We can beat Australia. It’s not that we can't beat them, because we did it in the last series in India and we did it before as well. We have worked out the weak spots and planned for (Australia's batters)."

Not only did Lanning's Australia identify the mantra to be consistent since then, but they also made some bold changes to the team set-up and won nearly 90 percent of the T20 games in the last five years. They won all three ICC World tournaments after the 2017 disappointment and have been branded as the ambassadors of the fearless brand of cricket. They did take a leaf out of Harmanpreet's best-ever international innings, which eventually knocked them out of the competition but only helped them grow stronger and wiser.

The good news is that the Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is at the ground and is highly likely to be part of the playing XI. As for Australia, Alyssa Healy (missed out last game) is fit and raring to go.

We can beat Australia, it's not that we can't beat them - because we did it in the last series in India and we did it before as well. Yes, they are a strong team but we can beat them." - Wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh explains the confidence running through her team, regardless of whether they are underdogs or not.

Harmanpreet Kaur: Pooja is unwell, so Sneh is replacing her. One more change is there. In place of Raja (Rajeshwari Gayakwad) Radha (Yadav) is in. I had a fever, but now I'm fine. One thing that we have been discussing throughout the tournament that we have to bat well that's why we added one more batter. One more change: Yastika comes in for Devika.

Meg Lanning: We are gonna have a bat. Looks a pretty good wicket, conditions are really good so get out there and have some fun. Jess Jonassen comes in for Alana King and Alyssa Healy (fully fit and good to go) is back for Annabel Sutherland. It's a different wicket, looks like it is playing pretty well, as usual we get out here and see what it is doing and adjust accordingly.

Australia Women have won the toss and have opted to bat

Harmanpreet is fit and is ready at the toss

Teams:

India Women (Playing XI): Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia, Sneh Rana, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur Singh

Australia Women (Playing XI): Alyssa Healy(w), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning(c), Ashleigh Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris, Georgia Wareham, Jess Jonassen, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown

Pitch report: It's a fresh pitch and the dimensions are short on one side of the ground. This is the same pitch that will be used for tomorrow as well. It's a nice, healthy green patch and it's in the line of middle and off-stump. The batters would target the shorter boundaries," reckon Ian Bishop and Anjum Chopra.

Harmanpreet Kaur: Pooja is unwell, so Sneh is replacing her. One more change is there. In place of Raja (Rajeshwari Gayakwad) Radha (Yadav) is in. I had a fever, but now I'm fine. One thing that we have been discussing throughout the tournament that we have to bat well that's why we added one more batter. One more change: Yastika comes in for Devika.

"I have been facing Darcie (Brown) since she is 14 and I'm still terrified of facing her. She just makes me look silly in the nets," Tahila McGrath about Australia's fast-growing pace sensation.

Deepti Sharma to Mooney, FOUR, dropped short outside off, Mooney uses the depth of the crease and cuts in the gap between short third and backward point

AUSW 18/0 (2.2)

CRR: 7.71

Australia Women opt to bat