Women's T20 World Cup Preview: Rivals aim to end Australia's dominance

Dubai, Oct 2 (PTI) The likes of India, England and South Africa will strive to end Australia's unrivalled dominance in the Women's T20 World Cup, beginning with a double header in Sharjah on Thursday.

Bangladesh will take on Scotland in the tournament opener in an afternoon fixture followed by a clash between Asian teams Pakistan and Sri Lanka later in the day at Sharjah.

Political unrest in Bangladesh forced the International Cricket Council to shift the 10-team event to the UAE back in August.

Australia the team to beat again

Australia will be the team to beat once again, having won the last three editions and overall six out of the nine editions staged thus far.

England, India and South Africa have repeatedly shown that the Australian fortress can be breached but when it comes to World Cup events, the team from Down Under remains invincible.

With Meg Lanning walking into the sunset following the triumph in South Africa about 18 months ago, Alyssa Healy has been handed captaincy to maintain Australia's supremacy in global events.

Healy would like to lead from the front but if she is not able to, she can rely on the squad full of match winners including Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner and Grace Harris.

Witnessing the pace duo of Tayla Vlaeminck and Darcie Brown in operation will also be exciting.

Australia have been clubbed in Group A alongside India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka while Group B has England, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh and Scotland. Top two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals.

England show ominous form ahead of World Cup

England, who won the inaugural edition in 2009 before losing three finals to Australia, will take a lot of confidence from the series win against their main rival during the Women's Ashes last year.

The pitches in the UAE are expected to favour the spinners, bringing England's trump card Sophie Ecclestone into play. She will be supported by Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean.

Veteran Nat-Sciver Brunt will provide the X-factor in the batting department. Opener Maia Bouchier will be one of the World Cup debutants to watch out for.

England will be supremely confident about their chances this time around, having whitewashed Pakistan and New Zealand in the summer.

Can India go all the way this time?

Another team who always challenges Australia but has hitherto not able to cross the final hurdle is India. The Harmanpreet-Kaur led side has lost two big T20 finals to Australia — the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and T20 World Cup in 2020.

India go into the event having not got a lot of game time following their surprising loss to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final. The team has worked extensively on its fitness and fielding, hoping it will make a big difference to its World Cup campaign.

The conditions could favour a spin-heavy India. In the batting department, the onus will be on openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana while Harmanpreet and Richa Ghosh will be expected to hit the sixes in the middle and death overs.

Harmanpreet, who has led the team since the 2018 T20 World Cup, will be under tremendous pressure this time around as another loss could bring an end to her captaincy tenure.

South Africa look to go one better after memorable run at home

South Africa rode a wave of home support to make their maiden World Cup final last year. Tasting defeat to Australia in the showpiece in Cape Town, the Proteas have been busy in their preparations to do one better.

The side, now led by Laura Wolvaardt, got its revenge over the reigning champions in Canberra at the beginning of the year.

However, South Africa lost that series and also went on to lose to Sri Lanka. The South African women have drawn series with Bangladesh, India, New Zealand before victory came over Pakistan earlier this month. PTI