Group A perfectly captures the reasons that the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 will be the most competitive tournament ever held. The ten teams are evenly divided into two groups, and five of the top eight teams in the Women’s T20I Team Rankings are in Group A, which is quite competitive. Here is a summary of the countries competing to place in the top two and go to the semi-finals.
Australia
As the top-ranked team, the greatest dynasty in women’s tennis history enters a new competition. Australia has won all 20 of its games at ICC global events, and they will look to win the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title for the fourth time in a row.
Following Meg Lanning’s retirement last year, Alyssa Healy will lead them this time. With 440 runs in the last 12 months, the keeper-batter is also their highest run scorer in Twenty20 international cricket.
The globe was alerted by the team’s series loss to England and their defeats to South Africa and the West Indies; Shelley Nitschke’s team will be the centre of attention in the United Arab Emirates.
India
India has advanced to at least the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup three times in the last three years, in 2018 and 2020 and 2023. The formidable opening duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma will be crucial to their chances of improving and taking home the trophy for the first time.
Women’s cricket in India is gaining popularity, and the national side has all the necessary resources to succeed in the UAE thanks to a strong spin assault.
Both their highly anticipated matchup with Australia, whom they lost to in the 2020 final, and their unexpected loss to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final will make for exciting viewing.
New Zealand
New Zealand, who are currently ranked fourth in the world in the Women’s T20I Team Rankings, will be keen to demonstrate their continued dominance.
The White Ferns have not advanced to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup knockout stages since 2016, despite winning twice each time.
Even if the losses occurred in difficult contests against Australia and England, they have also lost their last ten Twenty20 international matches.
They will depend to seasoned players Suzie Bates and skipper Sophie Devine, who are both competing in their ninth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, to turn things around.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s goal in qualifying for the tournament’s knockout stages is to defeat their opponents by fighting fire with fire in Group A.
Now that Fatima Sana, 22, is leading the team, they have an intriguing mix of youth and experience that should work well on surfaces that allow for spin.
Pakistan, which has never been bold in the powerplay, recently scored 181 runs in a Twenty20 international match against South Africa, breaking the record they had previously held. They have also released their top-order batsmen.
They want to cause a few upsets under the guidance of seasoned players like Nida Dar, Diana Baig, and Muneeba Ali.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, who is ranked seventh in the world for women’s T20I teams, will be looking to show off their newfound strength on the grandest platform possible.
With a massive 69 from in-form batsman Harshitha Samarawickrama, the team led by Chamari Athapaththu arrived in the United Arab Emirates with confidence, having won the Asia Cup for the first time.
They have also triumphed over South Africa, England, and New Zealand for the first time since the previous ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
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Given all of this, there will be a lot of expectation that, in their ninth event, they can contend for victories and possibly go past the group stages for the first time.