Unbeaten India pin hopes on Shafali
sydney — The Indian team, who have been undefeated so far in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup, will face a daunting task against England when they take on the 2009 champions in the first semifinal at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.
England have been India’s biggest nemesis in T20 World Cups. Since the 2009, India have lost four matches against England in the World T20s.
However, in the recent tri-series before the World Cup, India had managed to defeat England and thus would want to take confidence from that win in Thursday’s game.
With impressive wins over Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, India will enter the semifinals with sky-high confidence.
The star of the show for India has been the hugely talented Shafali Verma. With 161 runs in four matches and a batting average of 40.25, the 16-year-old is on the third position on the list of leading run-getters in the competition followed by England’s Natalie Sciver and Heather Knight.
Shafali is also the youngest player to get back-to-back Player of the Match awards having maximum impact on the entire performance of the team. She was ably supported by Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues who generously rotate strikes.
Surprisingly, the middle order has stepped up as Veda Krishnamurthy has regained her form. Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav’s performance in their match against the White Ferns helped India post a respectable 133.
India’s overall strength lies in batting but, if they have to go past England, the first six overs will play a crucial role as it will set the tone for the bugle of the final.
The seniors — led by Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana —- will have to perform to stay at the crease for long if India are to make it to their maiden final appearance in the T20 World Cup.
Poonam Yadav, under the tutelage of spin wizard Narendra Hirwani, has been shaping up with enough deceptiveness and consistent googlies. Poonam is currently poised as the most valuable player of the tournament with most wickets (9) in the group stage.
For England, Natalie has ravaged opponents by scoring 202 runs at 67.33 in four group-stage matches. With scores of 59 off 52 against Thailand, 36 off 29 against Pakistan, 57 off 56 against West Indies and 50 off 41 against South Africa, Natalie is in the form of her life and will pose a great threat to the Indian bowlers.
The forecast for Thursday at the SCG looks troubled with rain delays and a possible wash off could be on the cards. In such a condition, India and South Africa might proceed to the final at the MCG Ground for which over 50,000 tickets have already been sold.