Finally the stage is set for the Semi finals and after 10 days of play in the Carribean we have our four Semi finalists India , West Indies , England and Australia who are just two steps away from the glorious trophy of T20 World Cup.
Surprisingly India and West Indies topped their respective groups and they defeated mighty Australia and England in the journey so far.
Now Australia will take on West Indies in the 1st Semi whereas India will have to get through England to have shot on trophy.
We all know that there is no clear favourite amongst these specially after the group stages. Now knockout pressure will be there and there are no place for mistakes as a bad day can spoil the whole party.
Talking about the individual performances of the teams, India shocked everyone , they defeated better teams like New Zealand and Australia quite convincingly. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur led this young side from the front, she is the highest scorer in the tournament so far with 167 runs averaging 55.67, her 103 runs innings was a treat to watch and she just set the tone from very first match. Furthermore Vice Captain Smriti Mandhana who was off color before the tournament has proved what she is capable of and that she can win matches single handedly. Other batters Jemimah Rodrigues and Mithali Raj has been among runs (half century each), importantly Mithali’s experience will be crucial in upcoming matches. Indian spinners really have impressed specially the wicket taker Poonam Yadav who have given crucial breakthroughs when needed, it’s very hard to hit her slow leg spin. Radha Yadav is second best bowler for India , she has 6 wickets in the 4 matches she has played. So India will be confident and will be willing to take revenge of last year final from the English side.
We can say that West Indies are favourites as they got the supporters behind them and it is because of them and their brilliant bowling performances they have won 3 matches out of 4 in the group stages. Saving low totals are never easy and doing it twice is quite special but that will not happen always, so West Indies batters needs to fire against Australia otherwise they won’t stand any chance against strong batting line up of Australia who had fiery openers Alyssa Healy (157 runs ) and Beth Mooney (107 runs) who are in great form from past 2 months, consistent Meg Lanning is there and her deputy Rachael Haynes who can win matches for them. They also got hard hitters Villani and Gardner in their ranks.
On the other hand West Indies top order hasn’t produce good starts for them. Stafanie Taylor didn’t fire much with her bat, so did Hayley Mathews except in one match against Sri lanka. Wicket keeper Kycia Knight has surprised with her batting , she twice got her team out of trouble alongside with in-form Natasha McLean who had different role in this team but they will be getting tough fight from the Ausie bowling attack and specially World no. 1 bowler Megan Schutt who is their leading wicket taker.
Moreover not only West Indies pacers but spinners bowled really well, Stafanie Taylor has taken 7 so far, Deandra Dottin is the top wicket taker in the tournament. Pacer Selman and Shamilia Connell had given breakthrough early on in the powerplays. So the question still lies in front of us that will Windies be able to defend their title in their home.
The one which is left is England who are current One Day Champions and they will be looking forward to get another trophy in their cabinet. No doubt they are missing their two key pillars Sarah Taylor and Katherine Brunt yet they had really good chance. England don’t have any batter in top 20 run getters so far which quite strange. But it won’t be a problem as they have got deep batting lineup. While Hopes will be high from Danielle Wyatt who scored 100 against India earlier this year and so from Captain Heather Knights who is the backbone of their batting lineup. They got hard hitter Natalie Sciver who can contribute with ball as well and is capable of changing dimensions of game.
Anya Shrubsole is their key bowler, she has 7 wickets in just 3 games. Young Kirstie Gordon is another who has impressed.
So two exciting matches are their in front of us .
Nov 22, Thu
Australia Women vs Windies Women, Semi-Final 1
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua
1:30 AM (Nov 23)
08:00 PM GMT / 04:00 PM LOCAL
India Women vs England Women, Semi-Final 2
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua
5:30 AM (Nov 23)
12:00 AM GMT (Nov 23) / 08:00 PM LOCAL