Australian skipper Meg Lanning believes her side will not go into the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final against India with a psychological advantage as past results don’t matter against a strong team. Australia will take on India for a place in the World Cup final, after beating Harmanpreet Kaur’s side 4-1 in the five-match T20I series last December and also the 2022 Commonwealth Games final in Birmingham, alongside victory in the 2020 T20 World Cup Final at MCG.
“I don’t think so (Australia will have a psychological advantage),” Lanning said on the eve of the semi-final here.
“Both teams will start at the same level tomorrow when we come out and play. What happened in the past makes no difference. We have to come out and play our best cricket and play the way we want.”
“And in India we’re trying to do the same thing. So, like I said, it’s going to be an incredible game, two world-class teams going for it. And it’s about putting in your best performance on the day,” Lanning added. .
The captain also said defeating India in the five-match series in Mumbai last December does not make Australia big favourites, as the opponents are an “incredible side” and don’t rely on just a few players to win them.
“I’m not sure (Australia are favourites), to be honest. Obviously we both know each other really well. They’re (India) an incredible side. They’ve got some game winners and world class players and it’s going to be a great game are.
“Obviously we came here to be part of a game like this and we expect to play our best to win. And that’s something I know this group is ready for and we’re looking definitely looking forward to it.” It.” She also added that India now has a strong group that hits deep and is capable of performing in big events.
“I think they showed that they don’t depend on one or two players. They also have a lot of depth. So for us as a team, we had to prepare for all their players to do it.” Good.
“And I think when you get to that point as a team, you know you’re going to be playing in most of the matches, because in T20 cricket some things work, others don’t. And sometimes it’s not going to be your day.
“But as long as someone steps up, that’s the most important thing. And that’s what they’ve shown they can do.
“They’ve really created that really strong group of players who’ve played a lot of cricket together now. And they’re able to deliver. So we know they’re strong. And that just adds to the challenge and something we’re looking forward to. ” Lanning expressed confidence in her side, with all 15 members of the squad fully fit and available for selection against India.
“We have a full squad. Alissa Healy is fit and available, which is great for us. She’s had a great tournament so far and she’s going to play an important role. So that’s nice, but it makes it quite difficult.” to bring it down to 11.” She added that Australia will have to watch out for India’s spin bowling which, while strong, also has a lot of variety.
“They (India) obviously bowl a lot of spin with the ball. And they also have good variety in their attack. So that just keeps you on your game as a batsman and makes you adapt really quickly.
“And I just think they’re overall game winners. You know, they have players who can take the game away from you very quickly in the span of a number of overs. So we’re very aware of that and we’ll try to take that as much as possible to counteract.” Lannings said the plan would be to get rid of top class hitters Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma to put pressure on India.
“Yeah, that’s definitely a focus for us. I think any T20 game you play, if you can get some early wickets, that puts pressure on the opposition. So we’ll definitely have some plans to try and do that. .
“Smriti and Verma are obviously key players for those who we’ve talked about a bit, but they can take the game away from you very quickly.
“So yes, we have planned and we will certainly try to take early wickets because we know in T20 cricket that can make a huge difference.”
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