Ahead of the last group stage clash against India in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday, Australia all-rounder all-rounder Tahlia McGrath is confident that the squad have the depth to cope. The defending champions lost two players to injury during Friday’s win over Pakistan, with fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck and captain Alyssa Healy both leaving the field of play with a shoulder and foot injury respectively.
The expected unavailability of the pair will mean changes to the side for the big game against India, with Healy’s likely absence meaning the team will need a new captain, a new wicketkeeper and a new opening batter. “The thing about this Australian side is how much depth we’ve got. Captaincy point of view, wicket-keeping, we’ve got so much depth… time to use it,” Tahlia McGrath said after Friday’s nine-wicket win as quoted by the ICC.
Ashleigh Gardner was Player of the Match against Pakistan and spoke to the world’s media after the match, discussing the concern the squad have about their injured teammates ahead of a match that was always likely to be their most testing of the group stage.
“We have a really big challenge coming up against India. They will certainly challenge me personally, and we have had a few good battles with them over the years. Quite a bit’s happened tonight so it’s about staying together as a group. Obviously a couple of our mates have been injured and we certainly want to take them into consideration with how we progress into the next game,” she said.
India are ranked third in the world in the format and have recent experience of how to go about beating the world’s top-ranked team.
While Australia did win a T20I series 2-1 in India earlier in 2024, it was the first match of that series that will give Harmanpreet Kaur’s side particular confidence.
Having bowled Australia out for 141, India chased it down in quick time, inspired by half-centuries from opening pair Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma – both of whom also looked in good form during India’s win over Sri Lanka earlier this week.
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