Women’s T20 World Cup: First T20 match between India and Australia, Harmanpreet Kaur’s focus on dominating in short-format

The India women’s cricket team is on a tour of Australia as part of its preparations for the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, and the tour will begin with the first T20 match to be played in Sydney on Sunday. While Indian captains Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will lead their team in the competition, it will be the beginning of a new phase for Australia, as this is captain Alyssa Healy’s last ODI and Test series, and she has been replaced by Sophie Molyneux in T20Is, who will later captain Australia in all formats.

India recently performed brilliantly in the five-match T20 series against Sri Lanka and the performance of Indian players was also excellent in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Australia, on the other hand, have played only three T20 matches in the past year, all of which were against New Zealand. Considering Australia’s recent T20 form, India may have a good chance to defeat their rivals at home.

Before the match, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur told cricket.com.au, “We are all working hard to achieve our goals. Winning the (ODI) World Cup was a goal for us, and we are on the right track. We are working hard and hopefully we will always play our best cricket. We know Australia is very strong and they have played great cricket for a long time. But when you go into the field with a positive attitude and good morale. If you land, you can always show your superiority.”

Australian captain Sophie Molyneux recently talked about not making any major changes to her players, but at the same time she stressed the importance of bringing together the team’s experience and budding talent.

In this clash between India and Australia, wicketkeeper-batsman Beth Mooney is very close to becoming Australia’s highest run-scorer in Women’s T20I with 3,381 runs in her career. She is just 25 runs away, and has been making important contributions to the team.

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