India opener Smriti Mandhana is hoping a special conversation with Australia batting great Matthew Hayden will help her in India’s crucial ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 match against Australia at Lord’s on June 28, 2026 (Sunday).
India go into the match knowing they will most likely need to beat the unbeaten Australians to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive. Australia, India and South Africa are all fighting for the two semi-final places from Group A, making Sunday’s match one of the biggest games of the tournament.
Ahead of India’s final training session, Mandhana had the chance to speak with former Australia opener Matthew Hayden, who is working as a commentator during the tournament. The Indian batter said she wanted to ask Hayden about a few technical parts of batting, especially her grip.
“We had a good discussion about— I really wanted to know a few things about the grip and a few things,” Mandhana revealed to the media.
“I don’t want to really go into what we spoke, but yeah, it was a good chat. I have looked up to Sangakkara sir and Matthew Hayden quite a lot. I mean, I remember even in my bad days I would go out and watch their videos. So when I saw him doing the comms in the morning, I generally don’t really get excited, but I did get excited.”
Mandhana said Hayden was very kind during their meeting and openly shared his ideas even though India are getting ready to play against Australia.
“He was really kind and sweet (for being open before India plays against Australia), and I think he shared a lot of things … I hope I can apply them today in the practice.”
The conversation clearly meant a lot to Mandhana. Hayden has been one of the best opening batters in world cricket, and his advice could be very useful as India prepares for one of their toughest matches of the tournament.
India go into this match after a six-wicket defeat to South Africa earlier in the tournament. That loss has left them in a situation where they cannot afford another defeat if they want to stay in the race for the semi-finals.
Mandhana admitted that everyone in the dressing room understands how important the Australia match is.
“It’s an important match and everyone is aware of that,” Mandhana continued.
“We’ll go out there, work really hard, and try and put up the best which we can do. A very important match for us, a must-win for us to go through.”
India have spoken a lot about playing positive and attacking cricket throughout the tournament, and Mandhana said that approach will not change even though there is a lot of pressure.
“We just come in, we’ll see the wicket, we’ll see how the conditions are and how cricket we really want to play. But we’ve all spoken a lot about how we really want to be playing the aggressive brand of cricket, and that’s something which we’ll all look to do.”
Mandhana also believes India’s players are now better prepared for big matches because of the experience they have gained from playing in the Women’s Premier League. She feels those high-pressure matches have helped many players become more confident and stay calm in difficult situations.
“I feel that with the WPL, I feel the girls are also very well prepped in terms of taking the high-pressure games a little better than what we could before,” Mandhana continued.
“So hopefully we can take all of those experiences and memories and play the best we can tomorrow. We all have to really go out, play the ball, and not anything else. Not the situation, not anything else.”
A win over Australia would give India a great chance of reaching the semi-finals. With so much at stake, the team will hope Mandhana can lead the batting once again. If she can use some of the advice she received from Matthew Hayden and play the way she knows she can, India will have a strong chance of keeping their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign alive.
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