CAPE TOWN: Australia captain Meg Lanning won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the first semi-final of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 at Newlands in Cape Town on Thursday.
India made it through to the semi-final with relative ease, despite the loss to England in their third match. Wins over Pakistan and West Indies saw Harmanpreet Kaur’s side begin the tournament well, and they were effectively already through when they took to the field to play Ireland in their final match. India won the rain-affected match.
Australia will be aiming for a hat-trick of Women’s T20 World Cup title. They remain favourites after a dominant performance in the group stage. Meg Lanning’s side has rarely looked in trouble and stopping them will be a tough task for India.
It has been almost three years since Australia and India met in the final of the last Women’s T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
“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,” Meg Lanning said after winning the toss.
For India, Pooja Vastrakar has been ruled out of the game due to illness. Sneh Rana was named as the replacement.
“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,” Harmanpreet Kaur said.
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 and Darcie Brown.
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 and Renuka Thakur Singh. (ANI)