India have so far beaten Pakistan, West Indies and Ireland but lost to England in Women’s T20 World Cup.
New Delhi: Australia may have won the T20 World Cup five times but they are beatable too, feels former pacer Jhulan Goswami. Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, the Women in Blue will have their real test against the mighty Australians in the semifinal of the Women’s T20 World Cup.
India’s track record against the Australians in global tournaments haven’t been that worthy. India lost to Australia in the 2020 Women ‘s T20 World Cup and 2022 Commonwealth Games finals. Come Thursday, it will be totally a different ball game at Newlands in Cape Town.
Ever since 2017, India have emerged a tough side to beat in the shortest format of the game, if not at par with the likes of Australia and England. The Women in Blue have made it to the semifinals of the Women’s T20 World Cup for three consecutive editions (including 2023) and that proves how the side has improved over the years.
Goswami, who retired from international cricket last year, felt that the key for Harmanpreet’s girls would be how they can handle the pressure in crunch situations and keep it simple against the Australians.
“We all know how strong a team Australia are, having won the T20 World Cup five times. There’s immense depth in the side with almost all their bases covered, so India have to play extraordinary cricket to beat them,” Goswami, was quoted as saying to The Telegraph.
“But having said so, it’s still possible for India to beat them and reach the final,” added the legendary pacer, who is now a part of Mumbai Indians coaching staff in WPL. India have so far beaten Pakistan, West Indies and Ireland but lost to England in the league stages.
One of India’s famous wins against Australia was in 2017 during the semifinals of ODI World Cup. Last year too, India defeated Australia on one of the T20Is. Goswami opined that the players shouldn’t be in two minds.
“All that these girls need to do is keep things as simple as possible and be clear in their minds about what needs to be done during critical phases. You can’t be in two minds during such periods.
“Even in a pressure situation, if you feel you need to hit the ball, just hit it. Don’t flinch,” she added. The 39-year-old also felt that one of the set batters will have to bat long so as to lessen the number of dot balls.
“It’s important for one of the set batters to bat through as that’s one way to lessen the number of dot balls,” she stressed. The good news for India is, both Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma have been among runs at the top of the order.
