Find out the team that Smriti Mandhana feels defeating is a great challenge

You have to bring your best game on that particular day to get the better of them

There are no shortcuts to beating Australia and every team has to give its best if it aspires to overcome the six-time world champions, said India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup which begins here on Thursday. Australia’s dominance in the global showpiece has been unrivalled with the team winning the last three editions of the tournament.

With charismatic former skipper Meg Lanning calling it a day following the victory in South Africa about 18 months ago, Alyssa Healy has taken over the captaincy as Australia aim to maintain their dominance in global events. “Every game in the World Cup is important, and you have to give your 100 per cent in each one. New Zealand and Sri Lanka are strong teams, but with Australia, you know you can’t afford to make mistakes,” said Mandhana as India gear up to take on New Zealand in a Group ‘A’ match here on Friday.

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“You have to bring your best game on that particular day to get the better of them. There’s always excitement when facing Australia because they’re such a good team, and beating them is a great challenge,” added the India vice-captain. She added that the clash against Pakistan always brings out a lot of passionate response from the players. The arch-rival will lock horns here on October 6. “I think the India-Pakistan rivalry is more about the emotions of the fans than anything else. It’s not like the players don’t talk to each other; it’s the emotions from both nations that make it so intense,” Mandhana said.

“For me, every World Cup match is special, and we put the same amount of effort into each game. But there’s definitely a lot of emotion attached to the India-Pakistan games,” said the veteran of 141 T20Is. Mandhana said that playing Pakistan in the afternoon heat of Dubai would be challenge and that her team had a couple of sessions lined up to acclimatise to the conditions. “The afternoon game is going to be a challenge due to the heat, but when you play for India, there are no excuses. By the time we face Pakistan, I’m sure we’ll be ready. Mentally, we need to stay strong and keep pushing, staying hydrated is key,” she said.

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