Australia, India face-off in bid to top Group B table

Overview

**Australia v India**WT20 Match 17
Guyana National Stadium, Providence

Australia have won their three games by 52 runs (Pakistan), nine wickets (Ireland) and 33 runs (New Zealand). India have beaten the same opponents by seven wickets, 52 runs and 34 runs.

Looking at the numbers, there’s almost nothing to separate the two teams as they go head-to-head for their last game in the group stage. They have both been dominant – and have stated that as their ambition – and ruthless.

India set the ball rolling, playing the opening game of the tournament and knocking New Zealand over courtesy a blitz of a century from Harmanpreet Kaur. In their next two matches, Mithali Raj has taken centre stage with the bat.

Smriti Mandhana, the third of the big three in that batting order, hasn’t quite taken off yet, but she has pitched in, and so has Jemimah Rodrigues. A lot depends on how the four of them go, and they have all gone well so far.

Equally crucially for India, their spin attack has performed brilliantly. Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav and D Hemalatha have picked up 16 wickets between them in three games, while the other bowlers in the pack have done their bit too.

As a result, India have looked well-oiled, confident, and good enough to make a strong bid to win the tournament.

Exactly like Australia.

The Meg Lanning-led team, much like their male counterparts from the 2000s, have steamrolled all opponents, and have hardly broken a sweat in doing so.

The thrust has been provided, each time, by Alyssa Healy at the top of the batting order – 157 runs from three games at an average of 78.50 and strike rate of 160.20; she’s been the star. Beth Mooney has also scored useful runs, while most of the other biggies haven’t really had enough opportunities because of the work Healy, especially, and Mooney have done. Against India, they might be called upon to chip in.

And they have been outstanding on the field and with the ball – Megan Schutt, as one would expect, has been the spearhead, while all of Sophie Molineux, Delissa Kimmince, Georgia Wareham, Ashleigh Gardner and the irrepressible Elysse Perry have been among the wickets too.

There’s little to separate the two teams, which makes this game – of not much consequence in terms of semi-final spots but of huge importance otherwise – a potential cracker.

Key players

**Megan Schutt (Australia):**Healy will hope, and Australia will too, that she continues her breathtaking form into this game and beyond, but for Australia to do well, the Indian top three need to be knocked over quickly, and that’s where Schutt comes in. She’s the best in the business, after all.

Harmanpreet Kaur (India): That century at the start of the tournament, and the historic 171* in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, makes Kaur the one to look out for each time India play a big game. She’s looked in great touch, looks tremendously driven, and will back herself for one more big show.

Conditions

It’s Guyana, so the forecast is for dark clouds, rain, thunder and worse. Fans and players alike will hope most of the noise is from the field of play, where some of the best batters in the game will be in action, on a pitch where runs have been there for the scoring.

Squads

Australia: ****Meg Lanning (c), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Alyssa Starc, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

India: ****Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Tanya Bhatia, Ekta Bisht, Dayalan Hemalatha, Mansi Joshi, Veda Krishnamurthy, Smriti Mandhana, Anuja Patil, Mithali Raj, Arundathi Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav