Women's 20-20 World Cup 2023: Three reasons why India can lift the Trophy

Indian Women are set to take on arch-rival Pakistan in their first game of the Women’s 20-20 World Cup on February 12 in Cape Town. Runners-up of the last edition of the 20-20 Women’s World Cup, Women in Blue will be looking to lift their maiden World Cup.

India's most recent appearance in the competition saw them make their best-ever run to the finals. However, they were defeated by a strong Australian team in the finals. Harmanpreet Kaur led the young Indian team to win all the matches in the group stage of the tournament but eventually failed to hold their nerves in the most important game.

However, in the upcoming edition of the World Cup Harmanpreet and Co. will be looking to finish Australian dominance in the tournament. India is placed in a group of death with England, Pakistan, West Indies, and Ireland. Although, there are a few factors that can lead India to their maiden title in the tournament.

In-form and experienced batting line-up

Smriti Mandhana (right) and Shafali Verma (Source - Twitter)

In the quest for their maiden 20-20 World Cup title Women in Blue will be heavily dependent on the top order. India has a strong and experienced top order which includes Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, and Jemimah Rodrigues.

Opener Shafali Verma who led India Women’s U19 team in the first edition of the Women’s U19 World Cup is in red hot form. She is playing the African Condition for the last month and has played some vital knocks for the U19 team. Shafali along with experienced Smriti Mandhana will be looking to give a solid start to the team.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur who bats at 4 will be looking to continue her steady run of the recently concluded Tri Series. She will be accompanied by Jemimah Rodrigues or Harleen Deol in the middle order. The 22-year-old middle order batter Rodrigues will be looking to strengthen India’s top order as She had been in good touch during the Tri-Series. On the other hand, Harleen Deol has been in great touch since the home series against Australia. 

Richa: The X-Factor

Richa Ghosh (Source: Twitter)

Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh will be India’s X-Factor for the tournament. Along with Allrounder Shafali Verma, Ghosh was also a part of the U19 World Cup winning team. She has been India’s most striking batter in recent times. In the warm-up match against Bangladesh Women’s Ghosh smashed a brilliant 91 runs knock in 56 balls with a strike rate of 162.5. Ghosh who debuted for India in 2020 has played 30 T20 international matches and has scored 427 runs at a terrific strike rate of 134. Given her exposure to African conditions, India will expect Ghosh to hit big for the team. 

Depth in the Squad

Deepti Sharma and Shikha Pandey (Source: Twitter)

Another reason which backs India’s hope to win their maiden World Cup title is the depth of the Squad. In the 15-member World Cup squad India has chosen six all-rounders including Veteran Bowling allrounder Shikha Pandey. The 33-year-old pacer has been India’s go-to bowler in multinational tournaments. In the warm-up match against mighty Australia Shikha clinched two wickets by just giving Nine Runs.

On the other hand, Deepti Sharma will be India’s most important all-rounder of the tournament. The depth and balance she provides to the team will help Harmanpreet to make some experiments with the playing eleven. The 25-year-old off-spinner was the leading wicket-taker for India in the recently concluded tri-series where she clinched nine wickets in the tournament.