Richa Ghosh feels India need to be mentally strong in the semis
"We can beat Australia." This was a statement which India's wicketkeeper-bat Richa Ghosh reiterated on at least three occasions during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
India will have to go into the T20 World Cup semifinal with belief in their ability and execute their plans to perfection. Australia would have been on a 22-match T20 winning streak, if not for the high-intensity tied game against India last year. Barring that blemish, they haven't lost a match since March 2021.
That the defending champions are favourites is stating the obvious, but given their success rate against India, they also hold a psychological advantage.
Meg Lanning, skipper of the all-conquering Australian side, believes both teams will start at the same level. "What's happened in the past doesn't make a difference. We need to play our best cricket and India will look to do the same. It's about putting out your best performance on the day."
On the other hand, Richa said, India'smindset was work in progress. "We are improving our mindset. The one who is mentally strong in the game will win."
Dwelling on India's strength, Lanning said, "They obviously bowl a lot of spin and they've got some good variety within their attack. So that just sort of keeps you on your game as a batter, making sure you're adapting quickly. And I just think that they're overall match winners."
Richa predicted a high-scoring contest. "The pitch looks good. If the batters click, we can target 180. If we bowl first, we will try to keep them to 140-150."
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