Bharath in Dubai
As Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues indulged themselves in some batting practice ahead of the all-important India-Australia encounter, the eyes zoomed in on something else: The distance of the two square boundaries. The leg-side boundary – in relation to the right-hander – seemed a little shorter while compared to the off-side boundary. It just made the correspondent wonder whether it would affect the Indian off-spinners – Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil, while bowling to the Australian right-handers.
But the size of the boundaries is just one out of many aspects that the Indian brains trust would have to think about. One of them is the permutations and combinations surrounding the Net Run-Rate. After New Zealand clinched the game against Sri Lanka with 2.3 overs to spare, their NRR has improved to .282. India’s NRR is still relatively better at .576. However, if India lose by a margin of around 15-17 runs while chasing down a target of approximately 150 versus Australia, then their NRR will fall behind that of New Zealand. Currently, both teams are tied on four points.
New Zealand also have an advantage as they will play Pakistan in their final group game on October 14th. So, they will know the exact equation that they have to conquer in order to qualify for the last-four. Harmanpreet aptly pointed out in the presser: “For us, tomorrow’s game is important and we’ll try to play our best cricket. [What happens when] New Zealand and Pakistan play after us is not in our hands. And we don’t even want to discuss those things. We just want to keep things simple and just focus on tomorrow’s game.”
So, what about the injury concerns? Harmanpreet, who has already been troubled by a neck problem, gingerly walked to her chair at the presser with the left-knee in a brace. Harmanpreet, though, noted that she is fit and available for selection. Incidentally, the Indian skipper was involved in a few fitness drills and sprints two days before the game.
On a brighter note, Harmanpreet was in good nick in the nets, cracking a shot or two down the ground and through the long-off-region. Perhaps, somewhere at the back of her mind, Harmanpreet was also thinking about how teams have generally targeted the straighter boundaries in the tournament. Meanwhile, Pooja Vastrakar bowled in the nets and didn’t seem to be laid low by the ankle problem. She might still miss out on selection as India could pick a slew of spinners.
It isn’t just India, as Australia too have a few injury worries. Alyssa Healy has an issue with her right foot, while Tayla Vlaeminck, the pace bowler, is down with a dislocated right shoulder. Both those injury setbacks came in the game versus Pakistan. Australia still have enough depth to cover up for the duo. Grace Harris and Darcie Brown are the two likely options. Alana King, the wrist spinner, is also in the mix.
Last but not the least, we need to touch upon the pitch conditions. Muhammad Jamil, the experienced curator, has tended to leave a bit of dry grass for the T20 World Cup matches played at the ground. Probably, he doesn’t want the pitch to break-up further. The prevailing conditions are expected to suit the spinners, especially those who are good at extracting side-spin. Somewhere that points to Deepti Sharma. Asha Sobhana could also be a trump card. The team winning the toss is set to bat first.
The Sharjah cricket ground is also synonymous with history. Just take a short tour of the stadium and you will notice iconic images of Sachin Tendulkar from the days of ‘Desert Storm’, alongside Imran Khan and Viv Richards from the Rothmans Cup in 1985. There is some memorabilia too. For now though, all eyes will be on the big clash, with fans all set to make a beeline for entry to support their beloved Indian team.
India’s likely XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, S Sajana, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Thakur, Asha Sobhana
Australia’s likely XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Grace Harris, Ellyse Perry, Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Tahlia McGrath (c), Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown. King could also replace Vlaeminck.
