ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Top two contenders for the title and what are their strengths.
The ninth season of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, starting from October 3, is knocking on the door. For the last ten months, the event was supposed to take place in Bangladesh before the International Cricket Council (ICC) was forced to take it out of the country. Due to the political disturbances in Bangladesh, the tournament was moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the eleventh hour.
The conditions aren’t expected to change much, with spin anticipated to be the biggest threat. The entire tournament will be played in Dubai and Sharjah. With a significant difference between day and night temperatures in October, dew will be a huge factor. The pacers may get some help in Dubai, but Sharjah will be a tough place to defend.
Most of the teams look in good shape and balance. South Africa, England, India, and Australia finished among the top four in the last edition. All of these four teams will again give their best for the trophy.
Top two contenders to claim ICC Women’s T20 WC 2024
Daylight between Australia and other teams
If there is an event that happens in women’s cricket, Australia undoubtedly remain a contender. They were unbeaten in the 2023 T20 World Cup before holding their nerve for a narrow semi-final victory over India. There wasn’t much contest for them in the final against hosts South Africa.
The dominance of Alyssa Healy’s women is no fluke, especially in the shortest format of the game. Apart from West Indies (2016) and England (2009), six 20-over World Cups belong to them. They made a hat-trick of these victories on two occasions, which is simply phenomenal.
Before the upcoming season of the tournament, the defending champions again find themselves in a very balanced position. Since the end of the last T20 World Cup, they have won four of their five T20I series, including the 3-0 whitewash in Bangladesh. Their only bilateral T20I series defeat in the duration came in England in July 2023. But what is the secret behind this success?
In the 15-member squad they have picked for the upcoming T20 World Cup, experienced and power hitters come at the top. Their captain and opening batter, Alyssa Healy, is the eighth-highest run-getter (2905) in WT20I history. Her strike rate of 130 in 137 innings is the best among the top 20 on the list. Her opening partner, Beth Mooney, comes in the tenth position with 2829 runs, striking at 123.64.
At number three, Ellyse Perry walks out. In addition to her 1878 runs at a WT20I strike rate of 116.06, she is the joint third-highest wicket-taker (126) in the format. At number four, Tahila McGrath comes up with more power, having collected 962 runs at a strike rate of nearly 135. And that’s nothing before the 164.01 strike rate of Grace Harris.
In the bowling department, Megan Scutt will be the leader with 136 wickets at an economy of 6.40. Sophie Molineux, the left-arm spinner, and the exciting leg-spinner, Alana King, hardly allow the pressure to get off. Ashleigh Gardner brings balance to the side with a strike rate of 130 and 68 wickets in WT20Is.
The unlucky girl to miss out on the squad is Jess Jonassen, despite having 96 wickets at an economy of 5.76. It will be hard not to see Australia in the final, if not winning it for the fourth successive time.
Australia’s squad for Women’s T20 World Cup 2024
Alyssa Healy (c), Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Tahila McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Darcie Brown, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Tayla Vlaeminck, and Georgia Wareham.
Read More: What India Women need to set right in T20Is?
Improved India women keep their cards ahead
The beginning of India women in the shortest format wasn’t sweet. Despite winning their first-ever bilateral T20I series in England in 2006, it took them five more years to record their second. But they have improved a lot in the last two or three years. One of the reasons behind this has been their consistency in facing the best teams, which challenges them in every aspect.
Just like Australia, India also enjoy extreme power at the top, besides their right-left opening combination. Smriti Mandhana is the third-highest run-getter (3493) in WT20I history, striking over 120. Shafali Verma has 1948 runs, but her strike rate of 130.56 is the best among the top 60 players on the list.
Jemimah Rodrigues offers them stability in the middle in case they lose a few early wickets. The captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, doesn’t have a great record with a 107.32 strike rate, but she comes up with incredible knocks. The rise of Richa Ghosh has been the biggest advantage for the ‘Blue Brigade’. Striking at 140.52, she always ensures the first fire.
All-rounders always become the biggest weapon in the shortest format. Deepti Sharma, with 131 WT20I scalps, the third most in history, besides a strike rate of over 100, gives them balance. Her spin partner, Radha Yadav, dries up the middle overs with an economy of 6.55.
Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar have also been pretty good for them with the new ball. The former’s ability to take early wickets will again be crucial as they aim for their maiden title. Ultimately, it all boils down to how India handle pressure in crunch situations. They were right in the game during the semi-final of the last T20 World Cup against Australia. But, once they lost their captain, everything went flat.
India’s squad for Women’s T20 World Cup 2024
Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Yastika Bhatiya, Richa Ghosh, Dayalan Hemalatha, Jamimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Shreyas Patil (subject to fitness), Sajeevan Sajana, Deepti Sharma, Asha Sobhana, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, and Radha Yadav.
Besides the powerful balance of the sides, both teams have excellent backups in their squads. Australia will start their campaign on October 5 against Sri Lanka at Sharjah. On the other hand, India will open their campaign against New Zealand on October 4 in Dubai.
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