Women's World T20 Cup

8th Match: AUS-W vs BAN-W

Preview

The defending champions AUS-W will meet BAN-W in the 8th match of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 Tuesday, 14th February at 10:30 PM IST. This match is scheduled to take place at St George's Park Cricket Ground. 

The 5-time champions Australia have kicked off their campaign on a winning note defeating NZ-W in their opening match by beating them with 97 runs. On the other hand, BAN-W as they lost by 7 wickets against SL-W in their first game. 

Bangaleshi batters' have struggled quite in recent times and they are not able to build some partnership in the middle. However, BAN-W has done relatively better against the Asian teams and the loss against SL-W must have hurt their confidence. Whereas, the AUS-W squad is full of match-winning players in every department from batting, bowling and fielding. From Shutt and Perry in the bowling attack to Healy and Lanning in the top order, many impact players on this side can single Handley can win the match.

The side looks so inevitable, AUS-W will be happy to have bounced back quickly from their loss to IRE-W in their last warm-up match. Captain of the side Lanning will be hoping for a smooth journey ahead without any upsets in their upcoming fixtures. The number ninth team in the World, BAN-W are not a strong side compared to the World Series champion Aussies. And Lanning will be looking to make the most of this encounter by securing a big enough win that also helps with the Net Run Rate.

25-year-old right-handed batter Ashleigh Gardner will be the key player in the side as AUS-W looks to continue their dominance on the world stage. The batting all-rounder has been a crucial part of the Australian middle order. 

And in the previous match against NZ-W, Gardner also showed just how good she can be with the ball after taking a fifer against Black Caps by just leaking 5/12 in 3 overs. AUS-W's batting lineup is quite deep and the top order features some of the most consistent batters in this squad. The top gun batters like Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healey will be eager to find their form after recent failures to put a decent opening stand.

Given the opener’s lack of consistency at the top for Australia, the middle order will have a major role to play in setting a good target. Star all-rounder like Ellyse Perry is a match-finisher at number 5 who can score quick runs at the death and can produce a good show from the ball as well.

Australia’s biggest strength is its variety in the bowling attack as they like to play two all-rounders and three quality bowlers. Many impact bowlers like Megan Schutt and Darcy Brown can shift the scales in Australia’s favour at any point in the game. BAN-W has a big challenge on its hands. It is the mighty Australian Women they are facing away from home in the challenging conditions of Proteas pitches. 

Currently standing 4th in Group A, BAN-W has already lost a match so far in addition to both of their warm-up games. After opting to bat first against SL-W in their last match, the side could manage was a 126-run total in Cape Town. SL-W chased it down with ease beating BAN-W by 7 wickets and taking Sri Lanka to the top of the chart of Group A after winning their both matches. It seems as if there are only 4-5 batters in this lineup for Bangladesh who are not even showing any kind of temperament for the side. The side is well balanced with the likes of Shamima Sultana, Murshida Khatun, and skipper Nigar Sultana all they’ve got in the batting department.

Bangladesh always remains dependent on one of these three players. BAN-W hasn’t got any other player who’s made a significant contribution to the Bangladesh total. With such a batting lineup where only a few players make a difference, the strike rates can’t be any great either. If these three aim at scoring quickly and lose their wickets, the others would just collapse and the team ends up with a below-par total. The likes of Marufa Akter, Jahanara Alam, and Nahida Akter are the key bowlers who can deliver breakthroughs and keep the team alive in the game.

Match Details

Match: AUS-W vs BAN-W, 8th Match, Women's World T20 Cup

Date: Tuesday, 14 February

Time: 10:30 PM

Venue: St George's Park Cricket Ground, Port Elizabeth

Pitch & Weather Report

The average 1st innings score in men’s T20Is at this venue is 132 runs and 154 runs in the domestic T20s at St George's Park Cricket Ground. A 155+ score should be a match-winning total in this game between AUS-W vs BAN-W on Tuesday. There haven’t been many international matches on this ground. This will be the first women’s T20I on this ground.

In the domestic T20s, teams batting second have won 21 of the 40 matches at this venue. That’s just a slight edge in favour of the team batting second based on stats. But since both teams have a good bowling attack with reliable players, bowling first is the better option. It is a bowling-friendly pitch at this venue in South Africa.

The maximum temperature will remain at 26°C, with a low of 21°C with 83% humidity, and a wind speed of 24 Km/hr for the 8th Match, the Women's WC T20 on Feb 14 b/w AUS-W vs BAN-W. The weather in St George's Park Cricket Ground, SA during the match day will drizzle with precipitation of 40% but we can expect a full match.

AUS-W vs BAN-W Squad:

AUS-W: Meg Lanning (c), Alyssa Healy (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham.

BAN-W: Nigar Sultana (c), Rumana Ahmed, Dilara Akter, Marufa Akter, Nahida Akter, Shorna Akter, Jahanara Alam, Disha Biswas, Fahima Khatun, Murshida Khatun, Salma Khatun, Lata Mondal, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Shamima Sultana.

AUS-W vs BAN-W: Probable XIs

AUS-W: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Ashleigh Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown

BAN-W: Shamima Sultana (wk), Murshida Khatun, Sobhana Mostary, Nigar Sultana (c), Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Lata Mondal, Nahida Akter, Marufa Akter, Salma Khatun, Jahanara Alam

Match Prediction

It seems like a one-sided match as AUS-W is way ahead in this contest against BAN-W on Tuesday. However, given the pitch conditions and BAN-W bowling potential, there could be some surprises for the fans. If Nigar Sultana's side opts to bowl and if her side finds an early breakthrough, they might give Meg Lanning's side a run for their money. Nonetheless, Australia Women are a much stronger squad with many match-winners while BAN-W lack match-winning players in the batting lineup. We pick Australia to win this match with a big margin.

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