When team India had lost their group stage match of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2023 against England, it became all but certain that they might well face defending champions Australia in the semi-final clash.
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With Australia making it a walk in the park like they always do, their undefeated side in the tournament so far will face India in the semi-final clash today, at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town.
Having won 22 of the 30 T20Is they have played against India in the format history, Australia will start as favourites for sure, boasting of some of the top power hitters and quality batting depth.
India, on the other hand, know that they will require majority of their star players to turn up with their ‘A’ game, in order to stand a chance against this Aussie side.
The scratchy returns with the bat so far in the tournament from Shefali Varma and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is a cause of worry. Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh will yet again have to rise up to the occasion on a day they will unarguably face their toughest challenge.
Renuka Thakur will be expected to provide crucial breakthroughs in the Powerplay, as she has been successfully providing the team with so far in the Cup.
Newlands Cape Town pitch report today T20 Women’s World Cup semi-final
England smashed the highest-ever team total (213/5) in ICC T20 World Cup history during the previous match at the Newlands Cricket Ground, against Pakistan a couple of days ago.
The pitch here however, has played slower throughout the World Cup so far, with spinners drying up the runs especially during the middle Overs. Thus, expect them to play a similar role today as well during the semi-final.
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With the match to be played on a fresh pitch, expect the batters to trust the bounce and go for the shots against the pacers. India, in fact have the best strike rate amongst all teams in this World Cup against pacers.
All in all, expect the batters to do much of the talking during the semi-final clash today in Cape Town.
