NAVI MUMBAI, India (AP) — Australia won the toss and chose to bat first against India in the second semifinal of the Women’s Cricket World Cup on Thursday at DY Patil Stadium.
Captain Alyssa Healy was recovered from a calf injury that sidelined her for the last two games for the defending champion. Australia is gunning for a record-extending eighth Cricket World Cup final.
Attacking opener Shafali Verma was back for India after the in-form Pratika Rawal was ruled out owing to an ankle injury. She was injured while fielding against Bangladesh in the final league game at the same venue and was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.
Verma has played 29 one-day internationals and scored 774 runs at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 83.20. She was not part of India’s original squad or in the tournament reserves and has come straight into the playing XI.
India made two other changes; wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh was back after resting in the previous game, and medium-pacer Kranti Goud replaced Harleen Deol.
Healy missed Australia’s games against England and South Africa after scoring back-to-back hundreds against India and Bangladesh. She came in for Georgia Voll.
Also, left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux took over from wrist spinner Georgia Wareham.
Australia beat India by three wickets in a high-scoring game at Visakhapatnam in the league stage. It enjoys an 11-3 record against the co-host in World Cups. Australia is also on a 16-match unbeaten run in the World Cup stretching back to 2022.
The pitch should aid batters with some spin as the game progresses. There was a chance of rain but a reserve day was in place.
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Lineups:
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Amanjot Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Radha Yadav, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh Thakur.
Australia: Phoebe Litchfield, Alyssa Healy (captain), Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt.
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