Once again, India and Australia lock horns in the knockout stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2023. The highly-anticipated semi-final will take place on February 23.
Australia came into the tournament as the overwhelming favourite. They have done justice to the tag with some dominating performances in a difficult group. With the likes of host South Africa and New Zealand in the group, any slip-up could have made life difficult for the defending champions. However, they gave no chance to their opponents and produced dominating performances one after the other.
Australia began the campaign with a thumping 97-run win against arch-rivals New Zealand. Ashleigh Gardner won the Player of the Match award for her sensational five-wicket haul. They backed it up with decisive wins against Bangladesh by 8 wickets and Sri Lanka by 10 wickets. Against Bangladesh, Georgia Wareham starred with 3 wickets while the dependable Alyssa Healy’s unbeaten half-century sealed the chase against Sri Lanka.
Having already made it to the semis, Australia faced South Africa in their final group-stage encounter. The Proteas could only manage 124 runs in their stipulated 20 overs. The Aussies found themselves in a spot of bother at 40/3 in the run chase. However, a blistering 33-ball 57 from Tahlia McGrath ensured that the team from Down Under won the match with 21 balls and six wickets to spare.
India, on the other hand, began their campaign with a relatively comfortable 7-wicket win against nemesis, Pakistan. Jemimah Rodrigues was exceptional as she scored an unbeaten 53 to take India home. Against West Indies, the Indian bowlers showed great discipline and restricted them to 118/6 in 20 overs. The Women in Blue chased down the total with 11 balls and 6 wickets in hand.
Deepti Sharma stood out as she picked up 3 wickets. India’s toughest challenge came when they faced England. The English batters posted 151 runs on the board. The Indian top order couldn’t get going and eventually fell short by 11 runs despite the best efforts of Richa Ghosh.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side faced Ireland in their final group game. The Indians were all but confirmed to go into the semis. They posted 155/6 on the back of fighting 56-ball 87 from vice-captain Smriti Mandhana. Ireland’s innings came to a halt at 54/2 from 8.2 overs due to rain. The rain did not cease and the match was eventually called off. India won by 5 runs via DLS Method.
ICC T20 World Cup 2023: Australia vs India Semi-Final 1 – Match Details, Live Streaming, When and Where To Watch
Date: February 23, 2023, 6:30 pm IST
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Live Streaming: The ICC T20 World Cup 2023 will be streamed live on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar.
ICC T20 World Cup 2023: Australia vs India, Semi-Final 1 – Key Players
Australia:
Ashleigh Gardner: The star all-rounder was sensational in the recent 5-match T20I series played between these two teams in India. Gardner was awarded Player of the Series for scoring 115 runs and picking up 7 wickets. She has played well so far in the tournament, picking up 7 wickets in 4 games, and will be a play to watch out for.
Alyssa Healy: The dependable opener is also the leading run-scorer for the team in the tournament so far. She has scored 146 runs in 3 matches with an average of 73 and a strike rate of 124.79. The Indians will like to pick up her wicket early in the piece.
India:
Smriti Mandhana: The stylish left-hander is second on the list of highest run-scorers in the tournament thus far. She has scored 149 runs at an average of 49.67 and a staggering strike rate of 143.27. Smriti will have to score big so that others could bat around her against a potent Aussie bowling attack.
Richa Ghosh: The wicket-keeper batter has been in surreal form in the tournament. She played well in three out of the four matches and has become a reliable finisher for the side. In the three matches she played well, she wasn’t dismissed. In 4 matches, Richa has scored 122 runs at a mind-boggling average of 112 and a strike rate of 140.23.
ICC T20 World Cup 2023: Australia vs India, Semi-Final 1 – Head to Head
Australia has had the upper hand against India over the years. The head-to-head scoreline stands at 22-7 in favour of the defending champions.
ICC T20 World Cup 2023: Australia vs India, Semi-Final 1 – Pitch Report and Weather Forecast
4 matches have been won by teams batting first while 5 have been won by teams batting second. England amassed 213 runs against Pakistan on Tuesday. South Africa chased the target of 114 with 10 wickets and 2 overs to spare against Bangladesh on the same day. New Zealand also posted 189 against Bangladesh earlier in the tournament. So there are runs on offer if the batters are willing to apply themselves. Spinner can get help as the game goes on.
Clear skies are predicted for the day and rain is not expected to play a part. The temperature is expected to be around the early 20s.
ICC T20 World Cup 2023: Australia vs India, Semi-Final 1 – Probable Playing XIs
Australia Playing XI: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Meg Lanning (c), Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris, Georgia Wareham, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown
India Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Devika Vaidya, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Thakur Singh
ICC T20 World Cup 2023: Australia vs India, Semi-Final 1 – Squads
Australia: Meg Lanning (c), Alyssa Healy (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey
ICC T20 World Cup 2023: Australia vs India, Semi-Final 1 – Dream11 Predictions
Wicketkeeper – Richa Ghosh (VC), Alyssa Healy
Batters – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Meg Lanning
All-rounders – Deepti Sharma, Ashleigh Gardner (C), Ellyse Perry
Bowlers – Renuka Singh, Georgia Wareham, Megan Schutt
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