Harbhajan Singh believes Australia will be the team India needs to be careful of in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi
Our Bureau
New Delhi
The Indian women’s team will be in action during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which started on Thursday. They will be kickstarting their tournament against New Zealand on Friday. Indian women’s team has never managed to win a 50-over or 20-over World Cup. Coming to the T20 WC, their best finish was the runners-up finish to Australia in 2020. In the previous edition of the tournament held last year, India finished in the semifinals, losing to Australia by five runs.
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh said that Team India will be a team to beat during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, highlighting that the team has a “mixture of experience and youth”.
Speaking on Star Sports, Harbhajan said, “Team India will be the team to beat in this tournament. The World Cup is about to start, and I think India’s team is very strong. They have both experience and youth. Harmanpreet (Kaur) is in good form, Smriti (Mandhana) is in good form, and Deepti (Sharma) is an unbelievable spinner. They are a very capable team and have been playing very good cricket. The unit looks solid. If Team India plays good cricket overall, I believe they will win this tournament.”
Harbhajan said that the team India should not be under any pressure and only thing that matters is “Gurda, Jigra” (Heart and Courage).
“At this stage, the only thing that matters is Gurda, Jigra. Know yourself, play as a unit, and give your best. Results will follow. Don’t think about the big picture; just take small steps with each match and focus on the process. I hope if they follow these things, our team will perform very well,” said the former ace spinner.
In the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, India has had mixed results. They lost the T20I series against Australia and England earlier this year, but Harmanpreet’s side bounced back with two consecutive series wins against Bangladesh.
Harbhajan Singh believes Australia will be the team India needs to be careful of in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi. The cricket extravaganza has begun with Bangladesh winning the tournament opener against Scotland in style. India will begin their hunt for the coveted title on Thursday against a sturdy-looking New Zealand side.
Harbhajan shared his thoughts on the four opponents in the group stage and who Team India should be most wary of and said while speaking to Star Sports, “I think India needs to be very careful when playing against Australia. Looking at this group, India has Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. All these matches will definitely be important. But one match that I think will be a little tough is the India-Australia match.”
“Australia is a good team, even though these matches are being played in Dubai, on subcontinent pitches that might not suit them as much as their home conditions. But Australia, no matter where they play, are hard to beat. So, the biggest challenge for India may be Australia. Sri Lanka, too, after their recent series win against India, will be confident when they play against India. So, that will also be a good contest,” he added.
India have encountered trouble in the form of Australia during their quest for the T20 title. India reached their first-ever T20 World Cup final in 2020 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a night filled with hope of securing the elusive title. However, Harmanpreet’s side folded for 99 while chasing 185 against Australia.
In the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022, India once again was on the cusp of making history, storming into the semi-finals. However, Australia proved to be a stumbling block in the final four, taking away India’s hopes to enter the winners’ list.
In July, India’s T20I series against South Africa ended in a draw. In the Asia Cup 2024, India lost the final to Sri Lanka, who remained unbeaten throughout the tournament.
In the T20 World Cup last year, Australia defeated South Africa at home by 19 runs to win their sixth title. Meanwhile, India made it to the semifinals, losing to the Aussies by five runs.
Indian Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan.
