The Indian women’s cricket team are well on their way to the knockout stages at the moment and have the momentum on their side with consecutive wins in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. However, standing in front of them are defending champions Australia, who are undefeated in this tournament so far.
Shafali Verma on India vs Australia
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Speaking exclusively on Star Sports ahead of India’s clash against Australia in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, Indian cricketer Shafali Verma broke down Team India’s strategy and how they are gearing up for the upcoming challenge in Sharjah.
“Yes, we have a good team right now, and that’s because we don’t just go in predetermined. Whoever looks in good touch on that particular day, we just try to rotate the strike and let them play as many deliveries as possible. And yeah, she’s (Smriti Mandhana) hitting the spinners quite well, so that’s a positive sign. And we just try to give a good start for the team, which in turn produces a good innings, and ultimately we are able to put a good score on the board. So our aim is just to do well for our team and back our strength,” Shafali said.
Australian Players on the IND-AUS rivalry
Australian players Tahlia McGrath, Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, and Beth Mooney also shared their views on the India-Australia rivalry.
“It’s always fun playing India. The crowd is always double when you play them. I’m pretty sure every single game we play against them comes down to the last over. It’s always a hard-fought battle. There are always swings in momentum in the game. We’re going to have to be wary of them. Two world-class teams going head-to-head is always going to produce a really good fixture for fans,” Tahlia McGrath said.
Australia skipper Alyssa Healy was also asked about the match, and she said, “It’s always a big match. I think it’s the last round game in our pool, which is probably going to be high-pressure stakes yet again. They’ve got a lot of match-winners. I can’t go past probably Smriti Mandhana at the top of the order. We know how hard they are to beat and hard to play against, especially on the biggest stage.”
Beth Mooney said, “I think Smriti is just a classy player. When people watch her bat, they probably say, you know, she’s really nice to watch.”
First Published: Oct 11 2024 | 8:18 PM IST