Harmanpreet Kaur Confident About India’s Chances in Women’s T20 World Cup Against Australia
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 24: India captain Harmanpreet Kaur is optimistic about their chances of overcoming Australia in the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi. India reached their first-ever T20 World Cup final in 2020 but fell short against Australia. This time, Harmanpreet believes India can surpass Australia by taking their ‘best team into the World Cup.’
‘Look, their team is good, no doubt about that. They also know that India is one of the teams that can challenge them. I think that is a really positive sign. We know that whenever we play against them, we can beat them any day, any time. Winning the title after so many years is a great opportunity for us. They know we are a strong team. We just want to play good cricket and stay focused on what will help us beat them,’ Harmanpreet said in a press conference.
In the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022, India reached the semi-finals but lost to Australia. ‘It was tough last time as we came so close but lost in the semis. But you always need to focus on the positives, work hard on yourself and your fitness. We’ve tried to tick all the boxes before heading into the tournament,’ Harmanpreet noted.
India has had mixed results leading up to the T20 World Cup. They lost the T20I series against Australia and England earlier this year but bounced back with two consecutive series wins against Bangladesh. In July, India’s T20I series against South Africa ended in a draw. In the Asia Cup 2024, India lost the final to Sri Lanka.
Despite the mixed results, India women’s team head coach Amol Muzumdar is pleased with the team’s performance. ‘We’ve had some tough tours and series leading up to this [T20] World Cup. I’m really happy with how they’ve performed. In the Asia Cup final, we sat as a team and discussed areas for improvement,’ Muzumdar said.
Muzumdar expressed his confidence in India’s top-order batting and highlighted that the top six batters are the best in the country. ‘The top six are brilliant, the best in the country. We’ve identified [who will play at No.3], but we’ll only reveal that closer to the match,’ the head coach said.
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against New Zealand on October 4 at Dubai International Stadium. Before the tournament, India will play warm-up matches against West Indies and South Africa.
Doubts Revealed
Harmanpreet Kaur -: Harmanpreet Kaur is a famous Indian cricketer and the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team.
Women’s T20 World Cup -: The Women’s T20 World Cup is a big cricket tournament where teams from different countries play Twenty20 cricket matches.
Australia -: Australia is a country and also has a very strong women’s cricket team that often wins many matches.
Abu Dhabi -: Abu Dhabi is a city in the United Arab Emirates, where the cricket matches will be held.
Head coach -: The head coach is the main person who trains and guides the cricket team. For India, it’s Amol Muzumdar.
Top-order batting -: Top-order batting refers to the first few batters in the cricket team who usually start the game and are very important for scoring runs.
New Zealand -: New Zealand is another country with a strong women’s cricket team that India will play against first.
Warm-up matches -: Warm-up matches are practice games that teams play before the main tournament to get ready.
West Indies -: West Indies is a group of Caribbean islands that also has a women’s cricket team.
South Africa -: South Africa is a country in Africa with a competitive women’s cricket team.