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Smriti Mandhana will have to shoulder additional responsibilities when the Indian women’s team faces the mighty Australian women’s cricket team in a crucial match in the group stage of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Lord’s on Sunday.
Ahead of the match day, Smriti Mandhana revealed that she gained a lot of knowledge and clarity about the game by discussing with cricket legends like former Australian captain Kumar Sangakkara and former Australian opener Matthew Hayden.
Smriti Mandhana needs to find her form again
The Indian opening batsman admitted that he felt extra motivation after talking to great players of the game. The Indian women’s cricket team got their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign off to a great start by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in their first match of the tournament.
Smriti Madhana played an important role with the bat in two consecutive matches. There was a dip in form in the last two matches when the Blue Women faced South Africa Women and Bangladesh Women.
While the left-handed opening batsman recorded half-centuries in two consecutive matches against Pakistan and Netherlands, against South Africa and Bangladesh, she was dismissed early.
Australia will start the match on Sunday as favorites over India. To reach the semi-finals of the title race, India will have to win the match at any cost. Ahead of the tournament, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side defeated Australia 2-1 in the three-match T20 series.
Words of wisdom will motivate Smriti Mandhana against Australia
The match to be held tomorrow, 28th June, will have to be won at any cost, India’s performance in this will largely depend on the performance of Smriti Mandhana. Before the game, the women’s national cricket team’s star batsman was brimming with confidence and looked very focused, which could be the calm before a storm.
Smriti Mandhana said in the pre-match press conference, “I have watched Sangakkara, Sir and Matthew Hayden a lot. I remember even in my bad days, I used to watch their videos. So, when I saw him (Hayden) doing commentary, I got really excited.”
She said, “We had a good discussion and I wanted to know some things about grip etc. I also told him that when chatting before the Australian game, I don’t know if you want to do this or not, but he was really kind and sweet. He shared a lot of things which I hope I can apply to my batting.”
Australia will start as favorites to defeat India on Sunday
It is noteworthy that the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. Currently, in Group A, Australia, India and South Africa are strong contenders to secure some spots in the semi-finals.
The Australian cricket team is the only undefeated team in the group stage, as they have won all four of their last four matches in the competition. With 8 points they are on top of the points table and are on the verge of making it to the next stage.
