India is the runner-up of 2005 and last time (2017).
Mount Monganui, Mithali Raj would like to end her illustrious career by giving India the title, while England’s Heather Knight will save the title and Australia’s Meg Lanning on Friday with a commitment to make her team champion for the seventh time. Will compete in the ICC Women’s World Cup starting from The tournament, being organized after a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be played at six venues in a bio-bubble environment.
The prestigious tournament will be played in a league format where all eight teams will face each other out of which the top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals. India is the runner-up of 2005 and last time (2017). He will open his campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, while title-winning New Zealand in 2000 will take on West Indies in the tournament’s opening match. Australia, who won the title six times, will face defending champions England in their first match.
England has won the title four times. Experienced and young players will show their skills in this one month long competition. While players like Mithali, Jhulan Goswami, Suzy Bates and Megan Schutt would like to give a new dimension to their glittering careers, teens like Shefali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Fran Jones and Darcy Brown will be eager to make a mark. Australia is being considered as the strong contender for the title.
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He will look to make a fresh start after forgetting the loss to India in the last semi-final. In the last four years, however, Australia have had a dominating performance, which can be gauged from the fact that they have lost only one match in the last 30 matches in the 50-over format. All-rounder Ellyse Perry, who has been making her mark in the World Cup since 2009, has been in excellent form. Australia’s team looks very strong in the presence of players like Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning, Perry and Beth Mooney.
India are yet to win the World Cup and last time runners-up would like to go a step further this time. This will be Mithali and Jhulan’s last World Cup which they would like to make memorable. India’s impressive comeback in the fifth match after losing the first four ODIs against New Zealand should have boosted their morale. Mithali and Jhulan’s roles will be crucial but good performances from in-form Richa Ghosh, opener Smriti Mandhana and experienced Harmanpreet Kaur will mean a lot for India.
Defending champions England will be desperate to retain their title. Despite the recent defeat in the Ashes, England have been the most successful team in ODIs since the last World Cup. Kate Krauss is gearing up for her much-awaited debut at the World Cup. She has been England’s most successful bowler since 2019. England will also be in charge of Tammy Beaumont, who was voted the player of the tournament last time. The last time the tournament was held in New Zealand 22 years ago, its team became the champion.
The host country would like to repeat that again. The Sophie Devine-led side recently beat India 4-1 in the series and registered a nine-wicket win over Australia in the warm-up match. His batsman Amelia Kerr is running in excellent form. He has also done well in bowling along with his sister Jess Kerr. Apart from them, Suzy Bates, Devine and Amy Satterthwaite are the key players of New Zealand. South Africa are full of confidence after winning series against West Indies, Pakistan and India and are looking to maintain their momentum.
Sun Luce’s team has played ODIs against all the team after the World Cup 2017. They have dangerous fast bowlers like Shabnim Ismail and experienced batsmen like Laura Walwart and Luce. West Indies qualified for the World Cup on the basis of their rankings due to the postponement of the qualifiers due to COVID-19. His team is a good mix of young and experienced players. West Indies will, however, rely on off-spinner Anissa Mohammed, captained by Stephanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin.
Pakistan has participated in four World Cups so far, of which it has finished at the bottom of three. The performance of skipper Bismah Mahroof and left-arm pacer Nashra Sandhu will be crucial in his team. Bangladesh team is participating in the tournament for the first time and will try to make a mark. Wicket-keeper batsman Nigar Sultana is leading his team. (agency)