BackT20 World Cup: India confident ahead of likely semi-final against Australia, says Harmanpreet Kaur
India qualified for the last four when they beat Ireland by five runs on a rain-adjusted target in their last group match at St George's Park in Gqeberha.
PremiumIndian captain Harmanpreet Kaur said on Monday she looked forward to a likely Women's T20 World Cup semi-final against defending champions Australia. India became the third team to book a place in the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 semi-finals after they edged Ireland by DLS method at St George's Park.
This is India's third successive semifinal appearance following the one in 2018 and runners-up finish in 2020. With the win, last edition's runners-up India bounced back from the 11-run defeat to England in their previous match.
India qualified for the last four when they beat Ireland by five runs on a rain-adjusted target in their last group match at St George's Park in Gqeberha.
India joined England as qualifiers from Group Two with both sides having won three matches. England, however, still have to play Pakistan in Cape Town on Tuesday. Victory would guarantee them top spot but they are likely group winners even if they lose because of a superior net run rate.
Australia have already won Group Two, so are almost certain to play India as runners-up in Group One in the semi-finals.
Harmanpreet Kaur said India had gained confidence from having played Australia in a series in India last season, despite only winning one game -- and that was on a super over.
She pointed out that all teams, including champion sides like Australia, were under pressure in World Cup games.
"The brand of cricket we played (against Australia) gave us a lot of confidence," said Kaur. "We have a fair idea of how we have to go about the next game and we will make our plans accordingly."
Smriti Mandhana on Monday described the match-winning 87-run knock against Ireland as one of her toughest innings due to the difficult conditions at St George's Park.
Brief scores:
India 155-6 in 20 overs (S. Mandhana 87; O. Prendergast 2-22, L. Delany 3-33)
Ireland 54-2 in 8.3 overs (G. Lewis 32 not out)
Result: India won by 5 runs (Duckworth/Lewis method)
Toss: India
str/bsp
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