'We need to keep the momentum' – Jemimah Rodrigues

India have been exceptional through the course of the tournament and the sheer extent of their dominance came to the fore when they defeated Australia by 48 runs in Providence.

Smriti Mandhana, who was having a tepid tournament until the match, came to the fore with a brilliant knock of 83 from just 55 deliveries, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur chipped in with an explosive 27-ball 43 before the bowlers did a fine job to bowl Australia out for 119.

Although both teams had already qualified for the semi-final stage, the victory against Australia will be a confidence-boost for India going into the knockouts. The players are thrilled about the victory, but are looking to get even better.

"I think it's important not just because it's Australia, but for ourselves and our team, because we've got the momentum," said Rodrigues. "So we need to keep that momentum, keep doing the things, don't focus mainly on the results. So I think it plays a huge impact on our team and I think we look forward to it, but not get carried away and try to do even better in the semi-finals."

The assault launched by Mandhana and Kaur stirred up memories of the latter's marvellous 171* against Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Women's World Cup 2017. That knock, which propelled India into the final, remains a motivating factor for the Indians.

"Yes, (that knock) was definitely discussed (before the match)," revealed Rodrigues. "In our meetings. it's always good to remember the good stuff we've done. And it plays an impact and motivates each other. So we have spoken about that.

"So I think today also Harry di and Smriti, the partnership they had, I think if Harry di would have stayed for longer, we would have remembered a bit of the same one. But I think it was good."

Importantly for India, their bowlers are also hitting the right notes. Anuja Patil headlined the effort against Australia with 3/15 in 3.4 overs but the other spinners, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav and Poonam Yadav, also joined the dismantling of one of the most formidable batting line-ups with two wickets apiece.

"I think we bowled really well. We stuck to our plans, what we decided. And I think more than sticking to the plans the execution was really amazing by the bowlers, and the fielding also proved it. So I think it was a really good one today," Rodrigues said.

As Rodrigues mentioned, India were sharp in the field, letting no catches go by, proving that the sloppy performance in the previous game against Ireland was just a blip. "We worked more on fielding. Some of us were hitting it and we took more catches, and we got used to the weather conditions. So I think so that played an impact."

India seem to be peaking at the right time and the stellar show against Australia augurs well for their upcoming challenge in the semi-final. But Rodrigues reiterated that the goal was to keep improving.

"I think from the first match to today, we all have seen a lot of improvement in our bowling and in our fielding. Our teammates, everybody, the coaches, the support staff, everybody is putting in a lot of effort, were working really hard and it's paying off. We just try and get better," she said.