Australia wary but confident ahead of Women’s World Cup semi-final against India

SEVEN-TIME ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup champions Australia have a reason to be cautiously confident ahead of their semi-final against India on Thursday.

The fact is that the Aussies have lost just one of the last 11 women’s ODIs between the two nations, though Australia will not need reminding that the last time they met in an ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup semi-final, India won by 36 runs in Derby in 2017 thanks to Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbeaten 171.

However, Australia, under the captaincy of Alyssa Healy, entered the tournament as favourites and they have lived up to that tag during their unbeaten run in the league stage.

The team have proven their grit in several tricky situations, such as against Pakistan and England, chasing 200 down without losing a wicket, as they did against Bangladesh, or setting new records, chasing down a women’s ODI record of 331 against, who else but India. The fact is, Australia keep finding new and impressive ways to win.

The defending champions began with an 89-run victory over New Zealand and have not looked back since then, with Healy and Ashleigh Gardner both scoring two centuries along the way.

Key moment

The team from Down Under are bristling with confidence too. They had never chased more than 300 runs in a women’s ODI before their clash with India, for the simple reason that their bowling unit is so tight and disciplined that they have not often let opposing sides score that many.

But India managed just that in the league phase after a Smriti Mandhana-inspired India racked up 330 in Visakhapatnam. Instead of being intimidated, Healy relished the challenge.

She went to work and brought up her 50 in 35 balls, her century came in 84 deliveries, and she eventually departed for a majestic 142 – a welcome return to form for a player who had not passed the 30-run mark in her previous six innings.

Australia got over the line for a psychologically crucial victory, which again showed their rivals why they are such a competitive side.

Top performers

Then there’s Alana King who wrote her name into the Women’s Cricket World Cup record books in Australia’s final league match against South Africa. Her remarkable final figures of 7/18 against the Proteas were the best in tournament history and Australia’s best-ever in women’s ODIs.

It took her overall tally to 13 scalps, two behind teammate Annabel Sutherland, who finished the group stage with 15 scalps at 13.33, including 5/40 against India – she also struck an unbeaten 98 to help defeat England for good measure.

Healy and Gardner, meanwhile, have been the standouts with the bat. Healy scored back-to-back centuries against India and Bangladesh before sitting out the final two matches due to a minor calf injury, while Gardner’s tons came at crucial times against New Zealand and England.

Let’s face it, cricket is a funny game, and one purple patch for one player can swing any game, giving any underdog a massive boost. But ultimately it will take something quite impressive, a team playing out of their skin, and the Aussies having a really bad day at the office to stop them, but – being the professional, focused unit they are – they will be taking nothing for granted.

All in all, the Aussie vs India semi is shaping up to be a cracker!