ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, Australia vs New Zealand: Australia successfully defeated Sri Lanka in the opening match, but their captain Alyssa Healy said after the match: “We were decent, not perfect.” Most of the time they restricted Sri Lanka to a score less than a hundred and chased it down within just 15 overs. Yet Healy feels her team needs to crack their performance a bit tighter. One of the hallmarks of a team that has dominated sport is that they have won six of the eight women’s T20 World Cup an impressive feat they seek to add by the end of this month.
On Tuesday, an in-form New Zealand side will look to pull off an upset against reigning champions Australia. New Zealand arrives at Sharjah on the back of a thumping win over India, thus earning themselves two valuable points in their campaign.
As the competition develops further, we shall start to witness a host of sub-100 totals, but on Tuesday, this trend shall be broken. New Zealand showed what their batting can do in opposition to India with the only 120-plus total in the World Cup thus far as they reached 160/4. They go well in the PowerPlay and finish well, which bodes well for them against Australia.
For New Zealand, it’s the top scorer Suzie Bates, who is the highest run-getter in Women’s T20 World Cups with over 1,000 runs. In stark contrast, it’s Australia’s Megan Schutt who leads the wicket-takers in the tournament to date and had their position vindicated against Sri Lanka just a few days ago.
In a tournament fairly reliant on net run rate (NRR), the battle this evening gives scope for either of the sides to stake an early claim of superiority in the contest.
Also Read: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024: England And South Africa Set For A Showdown In Sharjah!
Match Details:
When: Australia vs. New Zealand, Women’s T20 World Cup 2024
Date: October 8, 2024
Time: 6:00 PM Local Time
Where: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
What To Watch?
Will it be another low-scoring game? Batters struggled to score freely on the Sharjah pitch, according to England captain Heather Knight, after her side defeated Bangladesh. It is up to Australia and New Zealand to do something different and write a new story for the tournament.
Team News
Australia: Alyssa Healy stated that they have to prepare themselves for the slow pitches on which they would play three of their four league matches at Sharjah. The Probable XI will remain the same.
Probable XI: Alyssa Healy (c/wk), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown
New Zealand: Sophie Devine is likely to stick with the winning team that beat India by 58 runs, a great start to her campaign.
Probable XI: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (c), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze (wk), Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson
What They’re Saying:
Australia’s Alyssa Healy discussed how the team was flexible throughout the tournament: “We will try a few different things throughout the tournament. We have players in our batting lineup who can break the game open.”
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine spoke about the performance of her team: “I’m incredibly proud of this group. To deliver such a comprehensive performance is something we have been targeting for a long time.”
This is going to be a thrilling contest, so cricket fans are in for some interesting and intense competition between two of the tournament’s titans. Do not miss the excitement!
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