The six-time World Cup champions have been on a roll in this edition of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup which is being played in New Zealand. Australia have registered four straight wins in the tournament so far, beating England, Pakistan, New Zealand, and West Indies comprehensively. Australia will take on India in their next fixture on March 19.
India, who were runners-up in the 2017 World Cup have won two out of their four matches in the competition to date. India entered the finals of the last edition of the World Cup by beating Australia in the semi-finals. With Australia’s place almost certain in the semi-finals of the World Cup, for India, all the next three games (Australia, Bangladesh, and South Africa) will be important as their spot is still hanging. If India loses to Australia, then their match against South Africa will be like a virtual knock-out and if they win against Australia, then their place is almost certain in the semi-finals.
Ahead of the India clash, Australia’s upcoming all-rounder Tahlia McGrath called the Women in Blue a “world class” side. Prior to the World Cup, India and Australia played a multi-format series Down Under. The two teams locked horns against each other in a three-match T20I series, one off Test and three matches ODI series. Though Australia won the multi-format affair, there was some fierce cricket displayed from both sides.
Despite being on a four-match winning streak, Australia is unlikely to take this Indian team lightly. McGrath in a media interaction said, “We’ve had a fair bit of success against them in the recent India series but [it’s a] new location, new tournament, so anything can happen. They’re a world-class side, so we do our homework on them.”
The all-rounder, who is playing her first World Cup also stated that there will not be any different plan for India. She said, “So we’re just pretty simple with our approach. Take every game as it comes and play the type of cricket that we want to play. So we’re really happy with the brand we’re playing at the moment and hopefully, more to come.”
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I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.