Australia unsure what to expect from familiar foe India

CAPE TOWN (Reuters): Familiarity breeds uncertainty for defending champions Australia as captain Meg Lanning says they are not sure what to expect from old foe India in Thursday’s Women’s Twenty20 World Cup semi-final.

The two sides have had some tight contests over recent years – including the final of the last T20 World Cup in Melbourne in 2020 – and veteran skipper Lanning feels this one will be as unpredictable as their past clashes.

“I feel like anything can happen. And we understand that pretty well. But we’re as planned as we can be in terms of their individuals and their sort of team style of play,” she told a news conference ahead of the semi-final at Newlands.

“But you can’t predict what’s going to happen. So, we need to be able to adapt and sort of play what’s in front of us. I think that’s really important in coming with all the plans that you want.

“But if you’re not able to adapt at the time and change with what’s happening, then I think that’s when you get into trouble. So, we feel like we’re in a good position to be able to do that if we need to. We know that we have to be on our game for the whole 40 overs. So that’s the challenge that we’ve got because we know India are a great team.”

India will be looking to deny Australia, who have won five of the last six Women’s Twenty20 World Cups, progress to a seventh successive final.

“I think that they’ve shown that they’re not relying on one or two players. They’ve got some great depth as well,” Lanning said of the opposition.

“They’ve really created that real strong group of players who have played a lot of cricket together now. And they’re able to deliver. So, we know they’re strong. And that just makes the challenge even greater and something we look forward to.”

South Africa and England compete in Friday’s other semi-final with the deciding match at Newlands on Sunday.