india vice captain Mandana said the team will stick to its aggressive attitude when taking on Australia in Sunday’s must-win match at the Women’s T20 World Cup. India’s place in the semi-finals is at stake and they know a win over the six-time champions will almost certainly ensure their advancement in a tight contest against South Africa. Ahead of the crucial match, Mandana admitted that India’s batting unit has not been as consistent in their performances in the tournament so far as they would have liked. “Obviously, it’s a big game. We’ve all talked a lot about how we really want to play aggressive cricket and that’s what we’ll all be doing tomorrow,” she said.Mandana feels that India has narrowed the gap with Australia significantly over the past few years due to increased exposure in franchise cricket and increased experience in high-pressure games. She pointed to India’s recent success in Australia and the impact of tournaments such as the Women’s Super League.“We performed well in the T20 format in Australia. We will gain a lot of confidence from that. Through the WPL, I feel the girls are also well prepared to deal with high-pressure games and are a little better than we were before,” she said.“But, yes, again I feel the gap has definitely closed. With some of our players going to the Big Bash, experiences are being shared and I feel the way the Indian cricket team has performed in the last four-five years – the gap has closed.”
Mandhana opens on Shafali
The left-handed opener also expressed hope that she and Shafali Verma can provide India with a strong start against Australia after struggling to maintain consistency in recent games.“We’ve had a very quiet series in England. We’re all really excited to get back to a good start for India because, of course, whenever we lay the foundation, more or less, we’re in a good position,” Mandana said.She also revealed that conversations with former Australia opener Matthew Hayden and Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara helped her improve her batting.“I have a lot of respect for Mr. Sangakkara and Matthew Hayden. I remember even on my bad days, I would watch their videos. So, when I saw him (Hayden) doing commentary, I was really excited,” she said.“We had a good discussion and I wanted to understand some things about the grip and stuff like that. I also told him, chatting before an Australian game, I don’t know if you want to do that, but he was really nice and lovely. He shared a lot of stuff that I hope I can apply to my shot.”
