India Women will have to overcome big-match pressure as it aims to exorcise the ghosts of the past in the T20 World Cup final against Australia in front of a record crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here on Sunday.
Group topper
India goes into the final unbeaten after topping the group stage where it beat four-time champion Australia in the tournament-opener . After the semifinal against England was washed out, the Harmanpreet Kaur -led squad advanced to its maiden summit clash, having finished first in Group A.The refreshing firepower of 16-year-old Shafali Verma at the top and consistency of India’s spin-heavy bowling attack has contributed massively to the team’s success so far.
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However, much more is needed from star batters Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet if India is to win its maiden ICC trophy. The brittle middle-order too needs to deliver. And besides doing the right things on the field, India will also have to win the battle of nerves.
Australia, having beaten India in the preceding tri-series final, finds itself in familiar territory having made its sixth successive final in seven editions.
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The Australians know how to win the big moments in high-pressure games, while the Indians have been found wanting on that front. India capitulated to England in the 2017 ODI World Cup final and 2018 World T20 semifinal.
India will expect Shafali to provide another flying start and hope this time the experienced Smriti also fires. There can’t be a bigger stage for Harmanpreet to be back amongst the runs and lead the team from the front.
If it was not for Shafali, India would have struggled to post competitive totals with the middle and lower-order doing precious little. The team did not cross the 150-run mark in the group stage but still managed to get over the line, thanks to a disciplined bowling effort.
Leggie Poonam Yadav has made a sensational comeback from a finger injury and is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with nine alongside Australia pacer Megan Schutt.
Pacer Shikha Pandey, too, has been impressive, while the left-arm spin duo of Radha Yadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad has kept things tight. It will be interesting to see how the Australians play Poonam on Sunday as the leggie was all over them in the opener.
Massive crowd
More than 75,000 tickets have already been sold for the final and the figure could go as high as 90,000 — unprecedented in women’s cricket.
Australia, led by Meg Lanning, will be backing itself to win in front of the home fans, though a sizeable number of Indian fans too is expected at the MCG.
Lead men’s team pacer Mitchell Starc will also be in attendance, rooting for the home team and his wife Alyssa Healy after getting clearance to leave in the middle of the South Africa tour.
Australia’s campaign has been hit by injuries to pacer Tayla Vlaeminck at the start and star all-rounder Elysse Perry was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament before the semifinal against South Africa.
Despite the twin setbacks, Australia has stormed to yet another title clash.
Attitude
“We’re not coming just to put on a good show. We’re coming here to win and that’s the attitude we’re going in with. It’s been a long time coming and the build-up to the game is something I’ve not experienced before. It will be the biggest moment of my career,” said Lanning.
The teams (from): Australia: Rachael Haynes, Megan Schutt, Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning (Capt.), Ellyse Perry, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Erin Burns, Molly Strano and Annabel Sutherland.
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Capt.), Smriti Mandhana, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Veda Krishnamurthy, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Pooja Vastrakar, Taniya Bhatia, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh.
Umpires: Kim Cotton, Ahsan Raza; TV umpire: Gregory Brathwaite; Fourth umpire: Langton Rusere; Match referee: Chris Broad.
Match starts at 12.30 p.m. IST
