ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, IND vs IRE: India targets big win versus lowly Ireland to qualify for semis
ICC Women's World Cup 2023: India is yet to qualify for the semis, and it would aim to get the job done with a massive win against Ireland. So far, it has won a couple and lost one in its three Group B matches.
FollowA defeat against England denting their confidence, India will look to bounce back with a big win against lowly Ireland to remain in contention for a semi-final berth in the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup at St George's Park in Gqeberha on Monday. After the 11-run loss to England on Saturday, its first defeat in the showpiece, India is in the second spot with four points from three matches behind England (six points from three straight wins), which has qualified for the semi-finals.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will now need a win against Ireland in its last group match on Monday and a big one to have any chance of filling up the remaining semi-final spot from Group 2. It needs to improve its net run rate from the current +0.205. Pakistan, which lost to India in its opening match, has two points from two games and has a chance to make it to the last four if it wins its last two contests. In that case, it will also have six points.
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Currently, Pakistan, which plays against the Windies on Sunday night, has a better NRR of +1.542 than India, though it is yet to face England, which has an NNR of +1.776. On the other hand, Ireland is already out of contention for a semi-final berth, having lost all its three fixtures.
To win big against Ireland, the Indian batting will need to fire, especially captain Harmanpreet and opener Shafali Verma, as both have not played a significant knock. Harmanpreet's scores in the three matches so far have been 16, 33 and 4, below par by her standards, while Shafali has made 33, 28 and 8.
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Young Richa Ghosh has been the most consistent batter for India with scores of 31, 44 and 47 not out, and she would be looking to continue with her excellent form against Ireland. After her match-winning knock of 53 not out against arch-rival Pakistan, Jemimah Rodrigues has scored 1 and 13 in the next two matches, and she would look to make the most out of a relatively weaker Irish attack.
An impressive 52-run knock from vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, though in a lost cause against England, also bodes well for India as she can put the Ireland bowlers to the sword if they fail to keep it tight. In the bowling department, the 5/15 against England -- her career-best -- should spur pacer Renuka Singh to get more against Ireland. At the same time, the seasoned Deepti Sharma had been the most consistent Indian bowler.
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India would expect a much better show from the seasoned left-arm spinner, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, without a wicket after three matches. At the same time, Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav also need to contribute more than they have done in the tournament. For Ireland, top-order batter Orla Prendergast has been in good nick with 109 runs from three matches, while Gaby Lewis has scored 84 in total from the same number of games. Cara Murray and Arlene Kelly have taken three wickets apiece, and they will be wary of the strong Indian batting line-up.
Squad:
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Shikha Pandey.
Ireland: Laura Delany (c), Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter, Shauna Kavanagh, Arlene Kelly, Gaby Lewis, Louise Little, Sophie MacMahon, Jane Maguire, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Rachel Delaney, Eimear Richardson and Mary Waldron (wk).
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Where to watch
Date and day: February 20, 2023 (Monday)
Venue: St George's Park, GqeberhaÂ
Time: 6.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): Hotstar
(With inputs from PTI)
