In an all-important clash tomorrow, the Indian women will take on defending champions Australia at County Ground, Bristol.
After winning four back to back matches, India lost were outplayed in their previous match by South Africa by 115 runs. On the other hand, England defeated Australia by 3 runs to go at the top of the points table.
With both teams on 8 points, it promises to be an exciting match. When these two teams in 2016, Australia won the ODI series by 2-1.
Here we look at the 5 players which would decide the fate of the match :
- Smriti Mandhana
After scoring 90, 106 not out against England and West Indies, the left-handed batter has scored 2,8 and 4 in the next 3 matches. She has been dismissed in the first few overs against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and South Africa which has not provided a solid foundation for Indian women’s team. In tomorrow”s match against defending champions Australia, Mandhana needs to give India a solid start with Punam Raut to help them post a competitive total.
- Ellyse Perry
Ellyse Perry the all-rounder from Australia batted well in the previous match against England. The Australian top order gave a solid start adding 56 runs for the first wicket. Perry and Lanning added 57 runs for the third wicket. Perry steadied the innings as wickets fell on the other end. Her 70 could not help Australia win the match while her bowling was not up to the mark. If Australia is to win tomorrow”s match, Perry needs to come up with a better performance with both bat and ball.
- Mithali Raj
The Indian captain Mithali Raj has been in decent form scoring 2 half centuries against England and Sri Lanka. In the previous match, she was dismissed for a golden duck. After that, India lost regular wickets as Deepti Sharma and Jhulan Goswami were the top scorers. In tomorrow”s match against defending champions Australia, Raj role would be crucial as she needs to steady the innings and also score runs. She would come at number 4 in the batting order.
- Meg Lanning
Meg Lanning the captain of Australian team took part in the previous match against England despite a shoulder problem. She came after the loss of the 2nd wicket and scored 40 in 46 balls. In this tournament, she has scored 152* against Sri Lanka. Lanning role would be to play with positive intent and help Australia to register a win.
- Ekta Bisht
Ekta Bisht has been India’s best bowler in the tournament. She has taken 9 wickets in 5 matches with the best figures of 5/18 against arch-rivals Pakistan. Bisht would play an important role in helping India take wickets at the start or during the middle overs. Her ability to bowl line and length makes a dangerous bowler to face. In the match against Australia, Bisht role would be to control the run flow and also pick wickets.