T20 World Cup: Women in Blue have their task cut out against the high-flying Aussies

These Aussies come hard at you.

They come harder when you hurt them.

After getting knocked out by India in the ODI World Cup semifinal at Navi Mumbai last October, the Australian women whitewashed India in a three-match series Down Under. Before that, after being blown away by Harmanpreet Kaur in the semifinal of the 2017 World Cup at Derby, they did the same: they crushed India 3-0 at Vadodara.

They will now want to avenge India for inflicting its first bilateral series loss at home for nine years (a 1-2 defeat in a three-match T20 series in February), in the last league match of the T20 World Cup at Lord’s here on Sunday. But, the Women in Blue will be ready for the challenge: they must win.

Since the in-form South Africans are expected to win against Bangladesh, in the first match of the double header at Lord’s, the fight for the semifinal spot is hard for India. The Australians, thanks to their much superior Net Run Rate, are almost certain to reach the last four.

They have looked the most complete side in the tournament. But they must also be very conscious of the fact that India is one team that has given some tough competition of late.

If it is a problem of plenty when it comes to the selection for the Australian team, India has not exactly been able to get the combinations perfect. If Australia is brimming with quality all-rounders, India hasn’t really got one apart from that trusted servant of the team, Deepti Sharma.

There isn’t much batting after her, but Radha Yadav, who took three wickets against Bangladesh in her first match of the tournament, makes the tail look less long. Sadly, it has been her dropped catches that have become a hot topic of discussion, but she remains the best fielder in the team.

India’s catching overall has been disappointing, but this team is strong and experienced enough not to be affected too much by it. And India has the firepower in batting to cause headaches for even a bowling attack as strong as Australia’s.

If Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur or Jemimah Rodrigues, who regained her touch and helped India stride over a mini-crisis against Bangladesh, get going, it may not be easy for Australia. The six-time champion is further strengthened by the recovery of Phoebe Litchfield, who hasn’t played a game after getting injured in the first match against South Africa, in which she made a 24-ball 50.