Captain of India Harmanpreet Kaur said her team will focus on their own game rather than Australia’s record when the two sides meet in what could decide India’s place in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.India face Australia at Lord’s in the final Group A game, knowing that a win will boost their chances of making the last four.
Speaking on JioStar, Harmanpreet said that Australia remains one of the strongest teams despite the retirement of Alyssa Healy.“Recently we played a T20I series against Australia at their home ground, and we played well. That series gave us confidence. It’s not that after Alyssa Healy’s retirement, Australia has become weaker. They are still a very strong side. They have a large number of players and a system that continues to produce quality cricketers. One player leaving doesn’t change that,” Kaur said.Australia, led by the all-rounder Sophie Molineuxthey have won all four matches so far in the tournament. Another win against India will confirm their place in the semi-finals.Harmanpreet praised Molineux’s leadership, saying: “Sophie Molineux is also a great captain. She leads from the front and knows how to get the best out of her players. She is calm under pressure and reads the game well. She has been part of this Australian set-up for a long time, so she understands the team dynamics. Under her leadership, they will be well prepared. But we have always played good cricket against them.“She added: “We have always given them strong competition in the big tournaments. The mindset remains the same; we will do our best, work hard and try to dominate them in every part. We know they are a strong team, but we also know we have the ability to match them.”The Indian captain said her team was concentrating on its own plans instead of spending time dwelling on Australia’s strengths.“We know Australia have great cricketers. They have world-class players in every segment. But we don’t spend too much time thinking about them. We focus on our own skills. We talk about what we need to do on match day, our batting plans, our bowling lengths and our fielding standards. “We talk about how we can execute our skills under pressure,” she said.She concluded: “We know what Australia have achieved in the past, but that doesn’t matter when we step on the pitch. It’s just about what we can do and how we can achieve to win that game. So we keep the focus on ourselves. We talk about our strengths and how we can use them against them. That’s what we’ll continue to do.”
