By Nick Said
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – India’s semi-final against defending champions Australia in the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup at Newlands on Thursday will be a battle of wills as much as skill, says teenage wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh.
India’s Ghosh claims her side have full confidence going into the game, despite the fact they have won six of their 30 previous T20 matches against the Australians, and lost nine of the last 10, with the other fixture tied.
“They are a strong team, but we can beat them,” Ghosh told reporters on Wednesday. “We know the weak spot of Australia and we are planning against it, but I will not say what that is because then they will come prepared.
“We are also trying to improve our mindset. Everyone has the (ability), but the team that is mentally strong will win. We have been working on that.”
Countering Australia’s formidable batting line-up will be key to success for India.
“They attack a lot. Whatever happens to them, even if the batter is out, they don’t stop attacking because they have batters from top to bottom,” Ghosh says.
“We don’t know how the pitch will behave, but it looks nice. We can target 180 if all our batters click and we will try to restrict them to 150.”
Australia have won five of the previous seven Women’s T20 World Cups, while India are waiting for their first title having been beaten by Thursday’s opponents in the 2020 final.
The second semi-final has England take on hosts South Africa at the same venue on Friday.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
