Women’s T20 WC 24: Healy-less Australia opt to bat first in a must-win match for India

Australia won the toss and opted to bat first in a do-or-die match for India in the Women's T20 World Cup, here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

India have made one change to their side with Pooja Vastrakar coming in for S. Sanjana while Australia will be missing the services of their captain, Alyssa Healy, who was seen in the stadium in crutches. The wicketkeeper-batter suffered an ‘acute injury to her right foot’ while running between wickets during Friday’s game against Pakistan.

In Healy’s absence, vice-captain Tahlia McGrath will be leading the team against India. Grace Harris and Darcie Brown are the two additions to their side for the encounter.

"We are gonna bat first, put up a score on the board. This is third game here, looks like a slightly better surface than the previous ones. No concern about injuries right now with all the focus on the game. We have two changes - Grace Harris and Darcie Brown are in," Tahlia said at the toss.

On the other hand, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said, "It's absolutely fine, we have to bowl them out for a low total and chase it down. It's our first game here, we have watched many games on TV and we have our plans. We have beaten them in the past too and we can again do that. One change for us - Pooja (Vastrakar) comes in for Sajana."

India started their campaign with a shocking 58-run defeat against New Zealand before registering comfortable wins against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A loss against the defending champion can see them drop out of the top two spots and potentially cost them a spot in the semi-finals of the tournament with New Zealand still in contention.

Australia have continued this edition of the T20 World Cup like they finished the previous one. The side picked up a nine-wicket victory against Pakistan in their last outing and will hope to continue their winning streak in the group stage of the tournament. Even if they lose against India, their superior run rate of +2.786 means they have virtually secured a spot in the final four.

Playing XIs:

India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh.

Australia: Beth Mooney(w), Grace Harris, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath(c), Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown.