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Smriti Mandhana warns Australia: The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 is underway in England. This is the 10th edition of the World Cup organized by the apex body. On Sunday, India women’s national cricket team will take on Australia women’s national cricket team in a virtual knockout match. It is important for Harmanpreet Kaur’s team to win this match to keep the semi-final hopes alive.
Before the match, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was present at the pre-match press conference and shared her thoughts about the match, and also leaked India’s plans to stop the six-time T20 World champions. Earlier, Shafali Verma had issued a warning to the Australian team.
“It’s something we would all like to do tomorrow” – Smriti Mandhana reveals India’s plans against Australia
The equation for the Women in Blue is simple: win the match and qualify for the next round, which would knock South Africa out of the tournament. Mandhana said India would play an “aggressive brand of cricket” against Australia. He believes that this is going to be a big match for the reigning ODI World Cup champions.
This win is necessary for #TeamIndia and #SmritiMandhana makes their intentions clear.
ICC Women’s #T20WorldCup #INDvAUS | Sun, June 28, 6 pm pic.twitter.com/lIJL4AOADf
– Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 27, 2026
“Obviously it’s a big game. We’ve all talked a lot about how we want to play really attacking cricket and that’s something we’ll be looking to do tomorrow,” Mandhana said in the pre-match press conference.
“The batting unit is raring to go” – Smriti Mandhana on India’s batting not yet performing to its full potential
Smriti Mandhana said that India’s batting has not been able to perform to its full potential. There have been some issues with the top order, and the middle order in particular has struggled this year, with only Richa Ghosh performing well so far in this tournament. They have defeated Australia in the shortest format of the game, and Smriti Mandhana and the team are well prepared for the upcoming game.
“We’ve been talking a lot in the batting meetings about how we really want to go out there and bat with intent. It didn’t go as well as we wanted. But having said that, I think everyone in the batting unit is raring to go,” he said.
“We did well in Australia in the T20 format. That will give us a lot of confidence. With the WPL, I think the girls are very well prepared to take on high-pressure games a little better than before.”
“I think the gap has definitely narrowed” – Smriti Mandhana explains the importance of franchise leagues
Smriti Mandhana said Australian players playing in the Big Bash League and the Women’s Premier League (WPL) have reduced the competition as all cricketers are now well aware of the strengths and weaknesses, giving the Women in Blue a chance to win games as well.
“But, yes, again, I think the gap has definitely reduced. With some of our players playing the Big Bash, the experience is being shared and I think the kind of cricket the Indian team has played in the last four, five years – the gap has reduced.” The 29-year-old player also believes that she and her opening partner Shafali Verma can make a good contribution against the Australian team while opening.
“We had a very quiet series in England. We were both really excited to give a good start to India because obviously, whenever we lay the foundation, more or less, we are in a good place. So I am really happy with the way she is hitting the ball and I hope we can turn our partnership together,” he said.
