England captain Heather Knight feels tackling spinners, particularly the in-form Poonam Yadav, will be crucial to her side’s chances of upstaging an unbeaten India in the semifinals of the Women’s T20 World Cup here on Thursday.
“We’ve practised for her a lot, I thought we played her outstandingly in the last T20 World Cup and that was due to the preparation we had,” Knight said.
“We don’t have (assistant coach) Ali Maiden anymore, who bowled brilliant leg-spin, but we’ve got a few coaches who have bowled it brilliantly and we’ve been really clear on how we’re going to do things against her.”
Poonam’s ability to deceive on Australian pitches has forced Knight to take note ahead of their crunch match.
“She’s a massive threat for them and is an improved bowler since the last World Cup, so for us to be successful, we’re going to have to play her and all their spinners well.
“That’s going to be key in the game,” the England skipper said.
