 "Team India begin their 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Dubai on Friday, 4 October. PTI")
The ninth edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup got underway on Thursday with Pakistan and Bangladesh beginning their campaigns on a winning note by defeating Asian champions Sri Lanka and Scotland respectively, both games taking place in Sharjah.
Team India, who will be hoping to end their long wait for an ICC title, begin their campaign a day later on Friday when they face New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Before the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Women in Blue begin their campaign on Friday evening, we take a look at some facts pertaining to the Indian team and their record in the T20 World Cup:
How India fared in the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup
India had arrived in South Africa for the eighth edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup hoping to go a step further after finishing runners-up in 2020 in Australia.
They began their campaign with a six-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in Cape Town after being set 150 to win, thanks to a half-century by Jemimah Rodrigues, and would follow it up with a victory by a similar margin against former champions West Indies, this time chasing a lower target.
Their hopes of making the knockouts took a hit when they fell short of the 152-run target set by inaugural champions England to suffer an 11-run defeat. However, Harmanpreet and Co would ensure a top-two finish by beating Ireland in a rain-affected encounter.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIndia were up against Australia, the team that had thrashed them in the 2020 final at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground, in the semi-finals and were set a challenging 173 to win. Skipper Harmanpreet (52) and Rodrigues (43) helped the Women in Blue recover from a shaky start with a 69-run stand for the fourth wicket.
However, Harmanpreet was run out in the most unfortunate fashion while attempting to complete a second run in the 15th over as her bat got stuck on the pitch just short of the popping crease as wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy neatly collected a throw from deep midwicket and whipped the bails off in a flash.
It was advantage Australia after Kaur’s dismissal and they managed to keep their nerves in check when things got tense, and qualified for the final with a five-run victory despite a late charge from Deepti Sharma (20 not out).
How many changes have India made to the 2023 squad?
Team India have made the following changes to the squad that had reached the semi-finals of last year’s Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa:
OUT: Sneh Rana, Shikha Pandey, Devika Vaidya, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol and Anjali Sarvani.
IN: Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil (subject to fitness) and Sajana Sajeevan.
India’s record at the Women’s T20 World Cup
Here’s how India have fared in the eight editions of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup that have taken place till date:
2009: Semi-finalists
2010: Semi-finalists
2012: Group Stage
2014: Group Stage
2016: Group Stage
2018: Semi-finalists
2020: Runners-up
2023: Semi-finalists
India’s record at the Women’s T20 World Cup — by numbers
Here’s a detailed look at India’s overall record in the Women’s T20 World Cup:
Matches: 37
Won: 20
Lost: 16
No Result: 1
Highest total: 194/5 vs New Zealand at Providence in 2018.
Lowest total: 90/8 vs England in Dharamsala in 2016.
Most runs: Mithali Raj — 726.
Highest individual score: 103 by Harmanpreet Kaur vs New Zealand at Providence in 2018.
Most wickets: Poonam Yadav — 28.
Best bowling figures: 5/15 by Renuka Singh against England at Gqeberha in 2023.
Other interesting facts:
— The India women’s team, as well as the rest of the teams participating in the tournament, will be playing at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium for the first time ever.
— An Indian team, male or female, will also be playing at the Sharjah International Stadium for the first time since 29 October 2000, when the men’s team led by Sourav Ganguly crashed to a 245-run loss against Sri Lanka after getting bowled out for 54.
— India were originally offered to host the ninth edition after political unrest in Bangladesh forced the ICC to move the tournament out of the south Asian nation. India, however, declined as they will be hosting next year’s ODI World Cup, resulting in the tournament moving to the UAE.