Australia are preparing for a “tough fight” in Thursday’s Women’s World Cup semifinal against India, says head coach and former spinner Shelley Nitschke, while recognizing the hosts’ deep batting resources even without their in-form opener Pratika Rawal. The unbeaten defending champions will take on India in the second semifinal on Thursday.
India have called up Shafali Verma, who has not played an ODI since more than a year ago, as a replacement for injured Rawal. Nitschke dispelled the notion that it was easier without Rawal, saying that India’s side was still full of threats.
Nitschke confirmed skipper Alyssa Healy, who missed the last two league matches with a minor calf complaint, would receive maximum rest before making a call on whether or not she plays. She also insisted India and Australia do not go into the semifinal as obvious “favourites.”
Though Tahlia McGrath has captained the side in the absence of Healy, her small totals with the bat 43 runs from six games are not really a worry for the coach. Nitschke pointed out that bowlers would play a critical role on what is likely to prove to be a batting pitch at DY Patil Stadium. Though Australia’s undefeated streak has boosted their confidence, she attributed the team’s success to various players chipping in regularly throughout the tournament.
“I know that India have a really strong batting order. They throw everything at us so we certainly need to make sure that we’re ready for them and they bat with a lot of depth now too.” “We are certainly under no illusions as to the depth and the skill of that batting order and certainly the planning that goes into that is (about) making sure that we’re getting that right as well,” she added.
“Relief? I know that they’ve got a lot of depth in their team. Obviously they’ve had a really good, strong opening partnership with Rawal and Smriti (Mandhana), so that changes things for them,” she said.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a relief, because we certainly know that whoever they put out there, they’ve got a lot of depth with their batting. We’re certainly going to have to be ready and be really well prepared for whatever opening combination that they put out,” Nitschke added.
“She trained well yesterday (Tuesday). I’ll still give her as much time as she needs to make a call on that (her availability) before the game tomorrow,” Nitschke said.
“Semifinals are anyone’s game, I don’t think we go in as the underdogs or the favourites. It’s a pretty level playing field, it promises to be an exciting match and the team that holds their nerve and is able to overcome that pressure of a semifinal should be successful,” she said.
“She probably hasn’t had the tournament or the numbers that she would like to turn out,” Nitschke said.
“She’s a really calm captain and she’s had to do it a number of times. The players (have) responded really well to her, she manages just to step into that role really well and take the reins,” the head coach added.
“We’ve had the luxury to play at least a number of T20s here and some of the players for the WPL as well. At least (we) sort of have an understanding of the wicket and the conditions from that perspective,” she said.
“But the bowling has got a huge part to play. It (the previous league contest) was a bat-off. The bowling can possibly be the difference so we’re certainly putting a lot of work into that side of the game,” she said.
“I like to think that we’re confident with our game plan. We’ve had a lot of our batters have contributed at some time across the tournament,” she said.
“Hopefully one or two of them can stick their hand up tomorrow night (and) that’s been an upside of our tournament (that) we’ve had a number of players do really well,” Nitschke added.
(With PTI Inputs)
