Sharjah: A confident Indian team will look to improve its net run rate by defeating injury-hit Australia by a big margin in a do-or-die match on Sunday in the Women's T20 World Cup 2024. By registering a big margin win over Sri Lanka, India has strengthened its chances of entering the semi-finals, although it was defeated by New Zealand in the first match.

On the other hand, Australia has six points from three matches and its net run rate is plus 2.786. Australia has secured entry into the semi-finals while India, New Zealand, and Pakistan are in the race for the remaining spots.

Defending champions Australia defeated Pakistan on Friday but captain Alyssa Healy injured her leg while fielding and fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck dislocated her shoulder. She will undergo scans on Saturday and is unlikely to play in Sunday's match.

India defeated Sri Lanka by 82 runs which is its biggest win in the history of the tournament. This also changed India's run rate from negative to positive and its chances of reaching the last four also increased. With this win, India is in second place in Group A while Australia is at the top.

India has four points and needs to win to enter the knockout stage because New Zealand still has one more match to play and can reach the last four with six points. In such a situation, the focus will be on the net run rate. India's net run rate is currently plus 0.567 while New Zealand's is minus 0.050.

Pakistan has two points from three matches. If they beat New Zealand in the last match and India loses to Australia, then all teams will have four points each and even then the net run rate will matter, so the Indian team not only has to win but also has to win by a big margin.

The Indian team has always given a tough challenge to Australia and in this battle for survival, captain Harmanpreet Kaur will expect the best performance from her team. At the top order, Shefali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, and captain Harmanpreet have scored runs. This is India's first match on this ground and it is not easy to score runs here, so apart from these three, Jemima Rodrigues will also have a lot of responsibility.

The bowlers performed well against Pakistan and Sri Lanka and they would like to maintain it. If Healy does not play, Australia will have to find a new captain, wicketkeeper, and opening batsman. Beth Mooney can do wicketkeeping while vice-captain Tahlia McGrath can be given the captaincy.

Teams:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shefali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Yastika Bhatia, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dylan Hemalatha, Asha Shobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan.

Australia: Alyssa Healy (captain), Darcy Brown, Ash Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molinou, Beth Mooney, Elise Perry, Megan Shute, Annabel Sutherland, Tyla Vlaming, Georgia Wareham.