 "India captain Harmanpreet Kaur bats while her Australian counterpart Alyssa Healy looks on during the ICC Women's World Cup match between India and Australia in Visakhapatnam on 12 October. PTI")
Despite gaining some momentum with their morale-boosting victory over New Zealand and their strong performance in the washout against Bangladesh, India will have to play out of their skins if they are to halt the Australian juggernaut in the ICC Women’s World Cup semi-finals.
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Defending champions Australia, after all, are the only team yet to lose a game so far, having finished top of the eight-team table with six wins and a washout against Sri Lanka in Colombo. They were also head and shoulders above other teams in terms of the Net Run Rate (+2.102), having outplayed a majority of the sides along the way.
Women in Blue in the semi-finals after topsy-turvy campaign
India’s campaign, meanwhile, went off the rails after the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Women in Blue defeated co-hosts Sri Lanka and arch-rivals Pakistan. They suffered narrow three-wicket defeats while defending targets of 252 and 331 against South Africa and Australia respectively, the latter smashing the record for the highest successful chase in women’s ODIs .
The Women in Blue’s crisis deepened after they failed to chase down a target of 289 set by England, succumbing to a four-run loss despite finding themselves firmly on top at one point.
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India, however, managed to get their campaign back on track in the nick of time, securing their place in the semi-finals with a convincing 53-run victory over New Zealand in a rain-affected game in Navi Mumbai that had become a virtual quarter-final.
Here’s everything you need to know about the blockbuster showdown between Australia and India, with the winner set to meet South Africa in the World Cup final on Sunday:
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhen and where will the ICC Women’s World Cup semi-final between Australia and India take place?
The ICC Women’s World Cup semi-final between Australia and India will be taking place at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on Thursday, 30 October.
What time will the World Cup semi-final between Australia and India get underway?
The semi-final showdown between Australia and India will get underway at 3 pm IST (9.30 am GMT) with toss taking place 30 minutes before the first ball is bowled.
What is the pitch and weather expected to be like for the Australia-India semi-final?
The upcoming semi-final will be played on the same strip where Sri Lanka had faced Bangladesh earlier in the tournament. While the two teams had struggled to get to 200 in that game, India highlighted the fact that the venue is indeed a high-scoring one by posting 340/3 against the White Ferns in the next game at this venue, with Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana scoring centuries.
As for the weather, Navi Mumbai was expected to receive some rainfall on Thursday, raising the possibility of multiple interruptions, but the forecast has improved greatly as of Wednesday evening. According to Accuweather, there’s a 25 per cent chance of rain during the afternoon, which then reduces to 15 per cent later in the evening.
Where can I watch the Australia-India semi-final showdown live on TV and online?
The ICC Women’s World Cup semi-final between Australia and India will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network, and will also be streamed live on the JioHotstar website and mobile application.
Full squads:
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Deepti Sharma, Uma Chetry(w), Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh Thakur, Sneh Rana, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh, Kranti Gaud
Australia: Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney(w), Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath(c), Georgia Wareham, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt, Heather Graham, Darcie Brown, Alyssa Healy, Sophie Molineux