Indian opener Shafali Verma believes India should keep things simple when they face Australia in a must-win match at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.Sunday’s matches will decide which teams from Group A will advance to the semi-finals. South Africa, with six points, will face Bangladesh, which has four points. India, also on six points, will then face unbeaten Australia, who have eight points.
If South Africa beat Bangladesh, India will have to defeat Australia to qualify for the semi-finals. Australia, however, can still go through even if they lose as they already have eight points and a much better net result.Speaking on JioStar, Shafali said that India is confident that they can beat Australia after winning the T20I series before the World Cup.“Everyone knows Australia is a world-class team. But it’s not like we haven’t beaten them before. We beat them recently in the T20 series in Australia and that gives us confidence,” she said.India beat Australia 2-1 in the three-match series and Shafali believes knowing the opposition well will help.“We’ve been playing against them for years. We know their pitchers, their strength and their plans. So we’re going to keep things clear, which is important, and back up our strengths. The more you think, the harder it gets.”The opener, who scored two 50s in the last three innings, said she had changed her mindset after the game against Pakistan.“A lot of things have improved in my batting. Before the match in Pakistan, I was thinking too much. I was planning too much, how I would play the first ball, what shot I would play on the second ball,” she said.“But after that game, I realized I don’t need to complicate things. I just need to keep it simple. When I bat, I look at the ball and react. I don’t plan too much ahead. That helped me score more runs.”In addition to kicking, Shafali also contributed with the ball. She bowled with the new ball in recent matches, returning figures of 1 for 22 against South Africa, including the wicket of Tazmin Brits, after taking 3 for 20 against the Netherlands.She said captain Harmanpreet Kaur gave her a clear role.“Harman di has kept my role very clear. She has told me that I will have to bowl in the power play. So I am working on that in the nets as well. I am bowling with the new ball, focusing on hitting the right areas and trying to keep the ball around the stumps.“As an opener, I know if you bowl outside the off stump, you give the batsman room to score. So, I always try to bowl according to what I would expect as an opener, what line and length would bother me. I bowl with that in mind; tight lines, off stump to off stump, and making the batter work for runs,” she said.India’s fielding came under scrutiny after several lost catches during the tournament, but Shafali backed her teammates.“Everybody’s thinking about giving 100 percent. Nobody misses a catch or misplays on purpose. Sometimes it’s just not your day, the ball doesn’t stick, the timing is wrong or the bounce catches you by surprise.”“But we always support a player who has a tough day, both on and off the field. Our preparation has been good. We had two days of training before this game against Bangladesh. We did field drills together as a team, half an hour of focused catching and fielding.“So, I’m not going to say we’re not preparing well. We’re doing everything we can. It’s just about the day. Some days things click, some days they don’t. That’s part of the game,” she said.
