"It hasn't been an easy road to the final but I wouldn't have had it any other way." © AFP
With ticket-sales having crossed the 75,000 mark two days before the final, and stand-up tickets also being made available, the summit clash of the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup at the MCG is set to be one of the biggest games is the history of women's cricket. The hosts are geared up for the occasion, with Australia skipper Meg Lanning also insisting that the team's focus will be on winning the contest and not just "put on a show".
"To know that game day's tomorrow, we're involved in the biggest game of women's cricket that's been, everyone's just looking forward to the occasion," Lanning on Saturday (March 7). "I always dreamed of being involved in this game when I saw it was at the MCG and they were hoping for a big crowd. We're not coming here just to put on a show, we're coming here to win, that's the attitude we're going in with."
Australia's entry into the final hasn't been easy. Having lost to India in their opening game, Australia needed to essentially win their remaining group games, including a virtual quarterfinal clash against New Zealand, to progress further. They had their fingers crossed ahead of the semifinal against South Africa, praying for rain to relent in Sydney, which it eventually did. The Proteas' chase was shortened to 13 overs and Australia managed to overcome their spirited fightback for a five-run victory to seal a date with India.
"It hasn't been an easy road to the final but I wouldn't have had it any other way. We are match and battle-hardened, all our games have been cut-throat, must-win clashes and have all been close. We've had to deal with that pressure, needed to stand up when you are under the pump. We haven't played our best game of cricket yet and that's still out there somewhere and hopefully it happens tomorrow," said Lanning who added that Australia will look to focus on the basics.
"I think we've shown that we're able to cope and be really calm under pressure and that's what's going to be needed tomorrow. Often in finals you don't need to go above and beyond what you've already presented. It's actually just about producing that again and making sure you do the basics really well. Especially early in the game when there are a lot of nerves flying around, that's going to be really important. I think the team that settles the quickest will give themselves a really good chance in this game."
Poonam Yadav played a key role in India managing to defend a total of 132 in the first match of the tournament. Shikha Pandey is also among the top-10 wicket takers while the left-arm spin of Radha Yadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad provide variety to the Indian attack. Australia are wary of the spin threat that India pose, and are preparing to tackle them.
"We've done our research on what happened in that last game, but the important thing to remember is that we're playing on a completely different wicket here in Melbourne," Lanning said. "We'll need to adjust to what is happening and what is in front of us. We'll be as prepared as we can be and the other really important thing is adjusting to what's happening at the time and being able to play accordingly.
"We will be facing some slow spinners today at training. Their spinners can change their pace. It's not just Poonam we need to worry about. They've got some really good left-armers like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and that's really important as well. They've got a really strong line-up right through their bowlers. We'll be covering all bases and making sure we're as ready as we can be," said Lanning, who is looking forward to a "great contest" against a team Australia have a lot of respect for.
"On the field, it's always a great contest, we have a lot of respect for each other and I've no doubt that's what will happen tomorrow. We understand there's one more challenge to come tomorrow, and it's going to be our toughest one so far so we're really bracing for that and looking forward to the chance to play against an excellent team," Lanning said.
With ticket-sales having crossed the 75,000 mark two days before the final, and stand-up tickets also being made available, the summit clash of the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup at the MCG is set to be one of the biggest games is the history of women's cricket. The hosts are geared up for the occasion, with Australia skipper Meg Lanning also insisting that the team's focus will be on winning the contest and not just "put on a show".
"To know that game day's tomorrow, we're involved in the biggest game of women's cricket that's been, everyone's just looking forward to the occasion," Lanning on Saturday (March 7). "I always dreamed of being involved in this game when I saw it was at the MCG and they were hoping for a big crowd. We're not coming here just to put on a show, we're coming here to win, that's the attitude we're going in with."
Australia's entry into the final hasn't been easy. Having lost to India in their opening game, Australia needed to essentially win their remaining group games, including a virtual quarterfinal clash against New Zealand, to progress further. They had their fingers crossed ahead of the semifinal against South Africa, praying for rain to relent in Sydney, which it eventually did. The Proteas' chase was shortened to 13 overs and Australia managed to overcome their spirited fightback for a five-run victory to seal a date with India.
"It hasn't been an easy road to the final but I wouldn't have had it any other way. We are match and battle-hardened, all our games have been cut-throat, must-win clashes and have all been close. We've had to deal with that pressure, needed to stand up when you are under the pump. We haven't played our best game of cricket yet and that's still out there somewhere and hopefully it happens tomorrow," said Lanning who added that Australia will look to focus on the basics.
"I think we've shown that we're able to cope and be really calm under pressure and that's what's going to be needed tomorrow. Often in finals you don't need to go above and beyond what you've already presented. It's actually just about producing that again and making sure you do the basics really well. Especially early in the game when there are a lot of nerves flying around, that's going to be really important. I think the team that settles the quickest will give themselves a really good chance in this game."
Poonam Yadav played a key role in India managing to defend a total of 132 in the first match of the tournament. Shikha Pandey is also among the top-10 wicket takers while the left-arm spin of Radha Yadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad provide variety to the Indian attack. Australia are wary of the spin threat that India pose, and are preparing to tackle them.
"We've done our research on what happened in that last game, but the important thing to remember is that we're playing on a completely different wicket here in Melbourne," Lanning said. "We'll need to adjust to what is happening and what is in front of us. We'll be as prepared as we can be and the other really important thing is adjusting to what's happening at the time and being able to play accordingly.
"We will be facing some slow spinners today at training. Their spinners can change their pace. It's not just Poonam we need to worry about. They've got some really good left-armers like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and that's really important as well. They've got a really strong line-up right through their bowlers. We'll be covering all bases and making sure we're as ready as we can be," said Lanning, who is looking forward to a "great contest" against a team Australia have a lot of respect for.
"On the field, it's always a great contest, we have a lot of respect for each other and I've no doubt that's what will happen tomorrow. We understand there's one more challenge to come tomorrow, and it's going to be our toughest one so far so we're really bracing for that and looking forward to the chance to play against an excellent team," Lanning said.