New Delhi: With a place in the semi-final at stake, India and Sri Lanka will face off in a must-win clash at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. While Sri Lanka head into the match without any win, India come on the back of an unconvincing win against Pakistan.
The semi-final chances of both teams are hanging by a thread and anything but a win could potentially end the hopes of qualifying for the knockouts.
While a loss for winless Sri Lanka would end their campaign, India would still have a slight chance even if they lose tonight. But the Women in Blue face Australia, the six-time champions and one of the only two unbeaten teams in the tournament. That’s why the clash against Sri Lanka becomes all the more important for Harmanpreet Kaur’s team.
But why only a win tonight might not be good enough for India?
India in search of a massive win to fuel their lacklustre campaign
The Women in Blue have looked undercooked, underprepared and lacklustre in the first two matches. While the cracks were evident in the humiliating loss against New Zealand in the opener, a win against Pakistan might have opened the account but it was far from convincing.
After their Net Run Rate (NRR) took a hit following a 58-run loss against the Kiwis, India gave themselves a good chance to improve it by restricting Pakistan to 105 for 8 in the second group game.
But India took 18.5 overs to chase down a paltry total of 106 despite being mindful of the run rate factor at the business end of the tournament.
Lack of intent, innovation and the slowness of the Dubai wicket led to the lethargic performance of the Indian batters, who have failed to get going on the slow wicket of the UAE.
That needs to change tonight as India must win big to improve their NRR and their chances of qualifying for the semi-final.
Redemption and resurgence
On Wednesday, India will face an opponent that broke their dreams of winning the Asia Cup trophy not so long ago. The Islanders stunned the favourites in the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 final by eight wickets to send shockwaves across the cricketing world.
While the Lankans have so far failed to replicate their heroic performances in the World Cup so far, they would aim to take advantage of the psychological edge over their neighbours.
India, on the other hand, will be gunning for revenge and a statement win that could lead to their redemption and resurgence.
Last chance for India to improve NRR and semifinal chances
Following their huge win against the Kiwis on Tuesday, Australia lead the points table with two wins in as many matches with a healthy NRR of +2.524. Pakistan (+0.555) are placed second followed by New Zealand (-0.050).
With a high chance of multiple teams finishing on the same number of points after the group stage, NRR might prove to be the deciding factor for qualification in the knockouts. For India, sitting fourth with a poor NRR of 1.217, a win might not be enough to qualify for the semis.
India have no option but to beat Sri Lanka tonight by a massive margin to improve their run rate and in the process chances of appearing in their fourth successive Women’s T20 WC semi-final.
Team India must play with a better intent to boost their chances of qualifying for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
