MATCH CENTRE | STANDINGS

• Match 18: India Women v Australia Women
• Eden Park, Auckland
• Saturday 19 March, 14:00 Local Time

The eighteenth match of the tournament represents an opportunity for Australia to become the first team to guarantee a spot in the knockout stages of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022.

And while Australia are likely already through to the final four, another win for the world’s top-ranked side would make it five from five during the group stage and mathematically guarantee a place in the semis with two matches to spare.

But for India, Saturday’s match is also a great chance to take a step towards reaching the semi-finals as they go in search of a first-ever Cricket World Cup title

Crushing wins over Pakistan and West Indies have highlighted the class in India’s team. But inconsistency with the bat has hampered them in the tournament to-date, with the top order struggling to click against New Zealand and England, with Mithali Raj’s side losing both of those matches.

“There is no problem in Indian batting,” Jhulan Goswami said after the loss to England last time out.

“This is a big tournament and when you are playing seven or eight consecutive matches then obviously there will be a few ups and downs. The important thing is how we come back as a team and execute our plans.

“The team environment is pretty good, everybody is very relaxed and knows her role. England was just one of the bad days for us, simply we could not execute our plans.”

With two more wins likely required to put themselves in the mix for qualification, India know they will have to beat one of the world’s top two teams, Australia or South Africa, to reach the semi-finals.

And an improved showing with the bat will be the order of the day against an Aussie outfit who have been dauntingly impressive with the willow in hand, crushing 310/3 against England first up, racking up 269/8 against the tournament hosts New Zealand, and completing chases of 190 and 131 in quick time against Pakistan and West Indies.

“Our top order have not fired as we had expected, but I’m sure they’re going to come back hard in the next game,” India’s Goswami said.

“Everybody wants to do well – this is the biggest platform, you won’t get a platform bigger than this. So everybody wants to do well and contribute for the team.

“And again, I’m very much hopeful that they’re going to come back strongly in the next game.”

THE TEAMS

India Squad: Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav

Australia Squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nic Carey, Ash Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington. Travelling reserves: Georgia Redmayne, Heather Graham

CWC22 DREAM11 FANTASY WATCH

Captaincy Pick – Rachael Haynes

Australia’s vice-captain started her tournament with a bang, scoring a magnificent 130 off 131 balls with 14 boundaries and one maximum in her first match against England. Two tidy 30s and a brilliant 83* against West Indies have seen the 35-year-old continued her brilliant form through the group stage, and she will be eyeing another big score against India.

Must have – Smriti Mandhana

India’s opener is developing into one of the top batters in the game, averaging over 40 in both Test and ODI cricket. The 25-year-old got her tournament off to a typically classy start with a half-century against Pakistan, and a brilliant 123 against West Indies showed why she has the potential to be one of the stars of the World Cup.

KEY PLAYERS

Alyssa Healy: There’s a reason why Healy is rated as the best ODI batter in the world on the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s Batting Rankings, with her ability to score quickly at the start of an innings an important feature of the 31-year-old’s game. Healy has three ODI centuries and 14 half-centuries to her name for Australia, but it’s her impressive strike rate (97.90) in 50-over cricket that stands out.

Jhulan Goswami: The veteran quick might be nudging closer to her 40th birthday, but Goswami still remains one of the most consistent seamers in women’s cricket and her record in 50-over cricket supports this. Goswami picked up 10 wickets at the last ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2017 and remains one of the most feared bowlers in the game.

THE VENUE

The giant Eden Park in Auckland is New Zealand’s largest stadium and a regular host of international cricket and rugby matches.

This is one of just two matches to be hosted at Eden Park during the tournament.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

All eight teams at the tournament will play each other across seven rounds in a league format.

The top four teams in the standings after the conclusion of the Group Stage will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held in the final week of March.

LATER FIXTURES

Australia’s remaining tournament fixtures:

19 March v India
22 March v South Africa
25 March v Bangladesh

India’s remaining tournament fixtures:

19 March v Australia
22 March v Bangladesh
27 March v South Africa