Deadline: March 8, 2020 at 12.30 PM IST
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Pitch report
The average first and second innings scores at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) read 167 and 140 respectively in the recently concluded Australian T20 League. The team batting first won 5 of 7 matches. Given the pressure of chasing in a World Cup final, both teams will anyway look to bat first.
Fantasy team
We have opted for a fantasy team on the basis of players’ impact, recent performances, and credit points.
You can also check players’ performances in the last 5 matches. Tap on the players’ images to get the data while making your fantasy team.
Wicketkeeper: Beth Mooney (vc), Alyssa Healy
Batters: Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana
All-rounders: Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur
Bowlers: Megan Schutt, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav
NOTE: Pick your fantasy cricket team wisely.
Power players
Smriti Mandhana likes to feast on the Australian bowlers. She was the highest run-scorer in the tri-series before the T20 World Cup: her scores against Australia read 35, 55, and 66. Overall, she has smashed 384 runs at 42.66 in a mere 10 matches against them, including a highest score of 83.
Beth Mooney‘s last three scores read 81*, 60, and 28. In the final of the tri-nation series, she had scored a spectacular innings of 71* off 54 against India. Her team would be expecting yet another encore.
One reduces the opposition to a punching bag, while the other smothers them with slow and deadly leg-spin. Shafali Verma and Poonam Yadav have been the golden girls for India in the tournament: Shafali has blasted 161 runs with a strike rate of 161 and Poonam tops the bowling chart with 9 wickets at 9.8.
Alyssa Healy looked rock solid in the tournament opener against India, scoring 51 off 35. Overall, she averages 25.5 against them, including three half-centuries.
Value picks
Radha Yadav has not gone wicketless in her last 23 T20Is. Against Sri Lanka, she registered her best bowling figures of 4 for 23.
Meg Lanning, the star of the semi-final, has an impressive record against India. She has scored 419 runs with a strike rate of 103.2.
Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma have been India’s go-to players in times of trouble. The duo is brilliant at running between the wickets, eventually keeping the scorecard ticking. Deepti’s ability to smother the batters with her off-spin makes her even more valuable in fantasy cricket.
Barring the match against India, Megan Schutt has not gone wicketless in the tournament. She revealed she does not like bowling against them, that they often get the better of her. That being said, with 9 wickets to her name, she is the joint-highest wicket-taker.
Harmanpreet Kaur has not fired yet, but her 171* against Australia in the semi-final of the 2017 World Cup is still fresh in our minds. The home team will be mindful of her belligerence.
Probable XIs
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Australia: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Leg Lanning (c), Ashleigh Gardener, Rachael Haynes, Jess Jonassen, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Delissa Kimmince, Megan Schutt
Also, get to know the tips & tricks on how to play fantasy cricket.