Women's T20 World Cup, Group A Preview: Australia favourites for a seventh title; India aim to end ICC trophy drought

The ninth edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup gets underway later on Thursday with Bangladesh taking on Scotland in the tournament opener followed by Pakistan facing Sri Lanka, both matches taking place in Sharjah.

This year’s tournament, which was moved to the UAE from Bangladesh due to political unrest in the latter, features the format that has been in place since the 2016 edition in India.

Also read | All you need to know about 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup

Women’s T20 World Cup format

The 10 teams that are taking part in the event are divided into two groups of five, each team playing the remaining four in their group once. The top two teams from each group progress to the semi-finals, in which the two winning teams advance to the final to fight for the title.

Group A comprises defending champions Australia, former finalists India and New Zealand as well as Asian champions Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Group B, on the other hand, features ‘hosts’ Bangladesh, former champions England and West Indies, last year’s runners-up South Africa and Scotland.

Preview | England, South Africa favourites in Group B but Bangladesh, Scotland look to impress

Before the tournament gets underway, we preview the teams in Group A, looking at their key player and fixtures besides summarising their chances of flying back home with the glittering trophy in their possession:

Australia

Not only are the Australians the defending champions heading into the ninth edition of the tournament, they are also by far the most dominant side in the history of the Women’s T20 World Cup, winning six out of the eight editions that have taken place to date.

Meg Lanning, who had announced her shock retirement from international cricket last year after helping the Southern Stars win the 2023 edition, has accounted for four out of the six titles as captain. Alex Blackwell was responsible for the Aussies winning their maiden title in 2010 while Jodie Fields was responsible for the 2012 triumph.

With Lanning having bid goodbye, the spotlight falls on wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy, who took over the reins of the team from Lanning and faces her biggest test as captain so far.

Despite the change in leadership, the Aussies remain solid favourites for a record-extending seventh title, which would be their fourth on the trot, given they’ve retained a large chunk of the core that includes star all-rounders Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner, pacer Megan Schutt, opening batter Beth Mooney besides Healy herself.

Player to watch

Few players have had a greater impact on the women’s game than Ellyse Perry, who certainly has earned the right to be counted among the greatest cricketers of all time — male or female. Perry had played a starring role in guiding Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the Women’s Premier League title earlier this year and had also made handy contributions with bat as well as with ball during The Hundred, where she represented Birmingham Phoenix. But beyond T20 leagues, it’s her impeccable record in big tournaments such as the World Cups that makes her the ultimate threat to the opposition.

Squad

Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Ash Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (vc), Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.

Fixtures

— vs Sri Lanka on 5 October at 3.30 pm in Sharjah.

— vs New Zealand on 8 October at 7.30 pm in Sharjah.

— vs Pakistan on 11 October at 7.30 pm in Dubai.

— vs India on 13 October at 7.30 pm in Sharjah.

India

India are yet to win a major global tournament in the women’s game, having finished runners-up in the 2005 and 2017 ODI World Cups as well as in the 2020 T20 World Cup, where the Women in Blue led by Harmanpreet Kaur remained unbeaten until getting outplayed by hosts Australia in the final.

They were up against Australia in another knockout clash in South Africa last year, this time in the semi-finals. Unlike the 2020 final, however, this game was a close affair and India ended up suffering a heartbreak by the narrowest of margins.

With the tournament taking place in the UAE this year along with the Indian team’s consistent run across formats, the Women in Blue will certainly back themselves to end the ICC title drought this month.

Additionally, India had suffered the disappointment of losing the Asia Cup final in July and will be hoping to make up for that loss by winning the T20 World Cup.

Harmanpreet has also led in the last three editions of the tournament, the team bowing out in the semis in 2018 and 2023 and finishing runners-up four years ago. The 35-year-old will be hoping to be fourth-time lucky in the T20 World Cup this year.

Player to watch

Though not as explosive as her opening partner Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana is a run machine at the top of the order and someone who can be relied upon not only for positive starts but also to anchor the innings and bat till the end to guide India to an ideal total.

Before representing Southern Brave in The Hundred, Mandhana had scored 173 runs in the Asia Cup at an average and strike rate of 57.66 and 137.30 respectively, collecting back-to-back fifties along the way. And let’s not forget her consecutive centuries against South Africa earlier this year, albeit in the ODI format.

Squad

Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Yastika Bhatia (subject to fitness), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil (subject to fitness), Sajana Sajeevan; Travelling Reserves: Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor.

Fixtures

— vs New Zealand on 4 October at 7.30 pm in Dubai

— vs Pakistan on 6 October at 3.30 pm in Dubai

— vs Sri Lanka on 9 October at 7.30 pm in Dubai

— vs Australia on 13 October at 7.30 pm in Sharjah

New Zealand

The White Ferns have been fairly consistent when it comes to the T20 World Cup, finishing runners-up in the first two editions, and bowing out in the semi-finals in 2012 and 2016. They had been routed in the 2009 final at Lord’s by the Charlotte Edwards-led English team, who thus became the inaugural champions of the tournament.

The Kiwis, however, would suffer a narrow three-run loss at the hands of Trans-Tasman rivals Australia the following year while chasing a target of 107 in the summit clash.

New Zealand were unlucky to not have made it to the semi-finals in South Africa last year, finishing in a three-way tie on four points with the home team as well as Sri Lanka in Group 1. The Proteas’ superior Net Run Rate, however, ensured they joined Australia in the knocks and relegated New Zealand to the third spot.

Player to watch

Few Kiwis have made a greater impact in the women’s game in recent years than spin-bowling all-rounder Amelia Kerr. The 23-year-old has been in promising form in recent assignments, scoring 43 at Lord’s during the T20I series in England in July and later collecting 4/20 against Australia in Mackay last month.

Kerr, the youngest cricketer — male or female — to score a double century across international formats — also sent out a warning to other teams by her all-round heroics in the warm-up games, scoring 37 and collecting 3/13 against Australia and following it up with an unbeaten 64 against England.

Squad

Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Melie Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu.

Fixtures

— vs India on 4 October at 7.30 pm in Dubai

— vs Australia on 8 October at 7.30 pm in Sharjah

— vs Sri Lanka on 12 October at 3.30 pm in Sharjah

— vs Pakistan on 14 October at 7.30 pm in Dubai

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka are among the handful of teams that have never progressed beyond the group stage in the history of the Women’s T20 World Cup; the closest they had come was in 2016 when they finished third in the five-team Group A, behind eventual runners-up Australia who progressed to the semis thanks to an additional victory.

However, by beating India in dominant fashion to win the Asia Cup in July, Sri Lanka not only have given themselves hope of reaching the semi-finals for the first time ever, they might actually be considered the dark horses in this tournament that might end up taking everyone by surprise in the end.

Player to watch

None other than skipper Chamari Athapaththu, who has been churning out match-winning performances with bat as well as with ball for years now, and had played a starring role in two famous triumphs over the past one year — the 2-1 T20I series win in England last year as well as the Asia Cup, where she scored a staggering 304 runs at an average and strike rate of 101.33 and 146.85 respectively.

Squad

Chamari Athapaththu (c), Anushka Sanjeewani, Harshitha Madhavi, Nilakshika de Silva, Inoka Ranaweera, Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Sachini Nisansala, Vishmi Gunaratne, Udeshika Prabodhani, Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana.

Fixtures

— vs Pakistan on 3 October at 7.30 pm in Sharjah

— vs Australia on 5 October at 3.30 pm in Sharjah

— vs India on 9 October at 7.30 pm in Dubai

— vs New Zealand on 12 October at 3.30 pm in Sharjah

Pakistan

Like fellow sub-continent nations Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Pakistan too have never made it past the first round of the Women’s T20 World Cup, a record that they will be hoping to change in the ninth edition this month.

That task will be easier said than done, given they’re up against six-time champions Australia, former finalists India and New Zealand as well as Asian champions Sri Lanka.

It is, however, worth remembering the terrific fight that they had put up against the Lankans in the Asia Cup semi-finals more than two months ago, nearly denying the Athapaththu-led hosts their maiden title in a game that went down the wire. The Fatima Sana-led side will be seeking inspiration from that performance to try and secure a top-two finish in Group A this time around.

Player to watch

Left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal had finished the third-highest wicket-taker overall in the Women’s Asia Cup with eight wickets at a superb average of 8.37 and an economy of just 4.72. She would then finish the top-wicket taker in the T20I series against South Africa at home with six wickets in three games (average: 15.16; economy: 7.58).

Iqbal could thus prove a handful in the UAE, where the conditions aren’t very different from those of the subcontinent.

Squad

Fatima Sana (c), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Gull Feroza, Iram Javed, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sundhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal (subject to fitness), Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan.

Fixtures

— vs Sri Lanka on 3 October at 7.30 pm in Sharjah

— vs India on 6 October at 3.30 pm in Dubai

— vs Australia on 11 October at 7.30 pm in Dubai

— vs New Zealand on 14 October at 7.30 pm in Dubai