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Team India is only one step away from advancing into the semifinals of the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup. Shafali Verma sounds confident ahead of their decisive match in the contest.
From Group A, Australia, India, and South Africa are in contention to capture the top two spots of the group to confirm berths in the semifinals.
The Indian Women's cricket team is hanging by a thin rope
The Netherlands, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are the other two teams in the group that are less favored to qualify for the next round. The upcoming Sunday will decide the two teams from Group A of the tournament that will play in the semis.
India Women's cricket team will have to cross a strong hurdle as they are scheduled to face the mighty Australia. The Australian Women's cricket team is the clear favorite to register a win over India, but the Indian Women's cricket team star Shafali Verma has refused to consider Australia as a superior force before making the collision on Sunday, in London at the iconic Lord's.
Shafali Verma is confident before facing Australia
Shafali says that they had defeated Australia in the past, ahead of the tournament, so the upcoming match is expected to be a tough contest between both of the teams, not a one-sided match. Ahead of the ongoing ICC Women's T20 World Cup, these two teams faced each other for a three-match T20I series, where the Women in Blue defeated the Aussies by 2-1.
“Everyone knows Australia is a world-class team. But it isn’t like we haven't beaten them before. We recently beat them in a T20 series in Australia, and that gives us confidence," Shafali Verma said while speaking on JioStar.
“We have been playing against them for years now. We know their bowlers, their strengths, and their plans. So, we will keep things straightforward, which is important, and back our own strengths,” she added further.
How can India qualify for the semi-finals?
Ahead of the match, Australia remains the only team undefeated in the group, top of the points table with 8 points from 4 matches. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team sits second with 6 points; with the same amount of points, South Africa is ranked third.
Because of the Net Run Rate of +2.268, Kaur and Co. is at the second spot, ahead of the Proteas, which have a net run rate of +0.734. If South Africa defeats Bangladesh in their fixture on Sunday, then India will have no option but to defeat Australia to claim 8 points.
In case Bangladesh loses against South Africa, and Australia is outplayed by India, then all three top teams of Group A will have 8 points. Then, the two teams with the better net run rate will make they ways into the semifinals, and the rest of the teams will take flights to their homes.
Shafali Verma mentions that ahead of the title race, she was a bit nervous about her own performance, but as he already claimed a couple of half-centuries in the last three games, she feels more confident and will stick to the basics during the match against Australia.
“A lot of things have improved in my batting. Before the Pakistan match, I was overthinking. I was planning too much, how I would play the first ball, what shot I would play off the second ball,” Shafali Verma said.
