Sharjah, United Arab Emirates — “Bigger and better things” is the mantra for women’s cricket as the T20 World Cup kicks off on Thursday.
Women’s T20 World Cup begins in UAE; Australia favorites to win
Following the success of the 2023 tournament in South Africa, the International Cricket Council has pledged that the world’s top female cricketers will once again shine, building on the momentum generated by India’s victory in the men’s tournament this summer. I’m looking forward to it.
A major hurdle was overcome after host Bangladesh was hit by political turmoil and domestic instability in the months before the tournament opened. The tournament was then moved to the United Arab Emirates, with 23 matches to be played in Sharjah and Dubai. The final is October 20th.
Bangladesh, which holds the hosting rights, will open the 10-team tournament on Thursday against debutant Scotland in Sharjah. Pakistan will play Sri Lanka in an evening match at the same venue.
Defending champions and solid favorites Australia are in Group A with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
Group B consists of South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh and Scotland.
Australia will aim to win their fourth straight title, but they fell short in 2016 when West Indies lost in the final in Kolkata.
“Winning in the T20 World Cup is really difficult. It’s a game of the best against the best and whoever can play the most consistently or win the little moments along the way can get the job done,” said Australia’s Alyssa. Healy spoke in his captain’s column ahead of the World Cup. “The conditions are a bit of an unknown for us. Only a few of our team have played in the UAE before, but most of our players were previously with The Hundred. ”
Australia, which has won three consecutive championships twice, will be wary of the threat posed by India. The Women in Blue, who reached the semi-finals in 2023 before losing to Australia in Cape Town, have grown largely thanks to the Indian Women’s Premier League. It was established to provide a platform for Indian women cricketers to express themselves and develop.
Twelve of the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian teams have participated in the tournament before. And three rising stars – Shreyanka Patil, Ayesha Sobhana and S Sajjana – are eager to get their first experience on the big stage.
“I can say this is the best team to play with for the T20 World Cup,” Kaul said in a press conference. “We have players who have been together for a long time. We know what pressure is like and we know how to deal with it.”
India has never won the Women’s T20 World Cup. After finishing runners-up to Australia in 2020 and losing in the semi-finals in 2018 and 2023, this will be Kaur’s 10th consecutive tournament since 2009, and she hopes to repeat Rohit Sharma’s victory with the Indian men’s team. I’m sure you’re eager. At the beginning of summer.
India will play New Zealand on Friday and Pakistan on Sunday, both matches to be played in Dubai. They will play against Australia on October 13th.
Group A will open with a rematch of the Asia Cup semi-final where Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan.
England, on the other hand, will be the sure favorites to advance from Group B. It has been a close call for the inaugural champions, and the 2009 champions, once again coached by Heather Knight, will be hoping to at least make it through to the semi-finals.
“It can be an unpredictable tournament. It’s important for us to not change the way we play and take it one game at a time,” Knight said.
England will be cautious of the situation ahead of the match against Bangladesh. Organizers have lined up the team with five spinners, giving an indication of what to expect in the three-week tournament.
Last year’s runners-up, South Africa, will open the tournament against West Indies, who are coached by Laura Wolvaardt.
“Reaching the World Cup final for the first time in our history in 2023 was a huge milestone moment for us and now we want to take it one step further and lift the trophy.” Wolvaardt said.
The big question remains whether anyone can stop Australia. There’s an added incentive to do it. The ICC confirmed the prize money of $2.34 million. This is the same amount as the men’s tournament and 134% more than Australia would receive if they won in 2023.
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