India’s semi-finals route will be easier if Australia lose to New Zealand today

Oz captain Alyssa Healy; (right) Sophie Devine

When Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand and Australia clash in the Women's T20 World Cup Group A match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium today, one team that will be watching their game with keen interest will be India. The result of this match will determine which route Team India will have to take to reach the semi-finals. Having already lost to the White Ferns, India will be praying that the Kiwis get the better of the Aussies. In that case, when India face Australia in their last league game, they will be under much less pressure as they will need to simply defeat Australia without bothering about the Net Run Rate (NRR), and march into the last four.

An uphill task

In case Australia overcome their southern neighbours, India would then need a big win, not only to grab two crucial points, but also to better Australia's NRR. That is going to be an uphill task. Of course, these calculations are based on the assumption that all three, India, New Zealand and Australia, will get the better of the two lower-ranked teams, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. There is a good chance of a triple tie on six points, with each of the top three winning three games apiece. That is when the NRR will become crucial. Thus, the Indian team management and fans will be glued to their TV sets to see how things pan out for India.

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Taking Meg's legacy forward

Australia have won the T20 World Cup six times, including the last three editions, led by legendary Meg Lanning. Now the reigns are in the hands of Alyssa Healy. It will be a great challenge for the wicketkeeper-batter to follow in Lanning's footsteps. Alyssa said that she is ready for the challenge and to take the Lanning legacy forward.

When Alyssa was asked what's the secret to Australia's continued success, she just grinned and said: "The secret was written down on a piece of paper by Meg and passed on to me - so I can't give that to you."

Queried further about following in Lanning's footsteps when Australia's domination might be on the wane, Alyssa added: "Everyone in this room is aware of the legacy Lanning has left in the game, so there are pretty big shoes to fill. But I'm not Meg, I'm Alyssa Healy, and I've brought that approach into this Australian team."

It needs to be seen how far Healy can carry Lanning's legacy without the long-serving captain missing after a long and successful career, both as a player and a
leader.