Indian women eye T20 tri-series title in summit clash against Australia

Their batting woes sorted, India will fancy their chances of claiming the women's T20 tri-series when they face Australia in the summit clash on Wednesday. After failing to fire in unison in their first three league matches, India produced a good batting show to record a seven-wicket win over Australia on Saturday, which took the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side into the final. The two sides are on equal footing having won a match against each other in the double-legged league.

Senior opener Smriti Mandhana continued to be the batting bulwark along with Harmanpreet, but the most heartening thing was that 16-year-old Shafali Verma came good in the last game against Australia. The home side posted 173 for five, courtesy a 57-ball 93 from Ashleigh Gardner and Meg Lanning's 22-ball 37, but India overhauled the target in 19.4 overs, largely due to opener Shafali's 49 off 28 balls and Mandhana's 55 off 48 balls. After two failures, Shafali gave India a flying start and her innings contained eight fours and a six. Her senior opening partner Mandhana, on the other hand, anchored the chase with a solid knock that comprised seven boundaries.

Jemimah Rodrigues also contributed with a quickfire 19-ball 30, which was studded with five hits to the fence, while Harmanpreet chipped in with a run-a-ball 20 to help India chase down the target. The Indian bowlers have been doing well in this tournament with the likes Deepti Sharma and Rajeshwari Gayakwad producing consistent performances. In the penultimate league match against England, the Indian bowlers did well to not allow the opponents an easy win while defending a small total. Australia got a boost after an easy win over England a day after losing to India. They have a strong batting line-up with opener Berth Mooney among runs and one-down Gardner in tremendous form.

Key players Lanning and Ellyse Perry have also been in good touch. The only struggling batter has been the opener Alyssa Healy. Gardner had top-scored against India in the second league match between the two sides, while Mooney played a big part in the win against England, which took the home side to the final. A tournament is a preparatory event for the T20 World Cup beginning in Australia on February 21.

The teams

India Women: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Veda Krishnamurthy, Taniya Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Arundhati Reddy, Harleen Deol, Nuzhat Parween, Poonam Yadav.

Australia Women: Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Meg Lanning (capt), Ellyse Perry, Rachael Haynes, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Megan Schutt, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux, Erin Burns, Tayla Vlaeminck.