Women's T20 World Cup 2026: India win the toss and elect to bat first against Australia

Both captains at the toss (Pic: BCCI)

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and decided to bat first against Australia at Lord's Stadium in London. The Indian team needs to beat Australia to book a place in the semi-final of the World Cup.

After winning the toss, Harmanpreet Kaur was happy to bat first and put up a score on the board. The Indian captain also announced one change for the must-win game, with Kranti coming back in place of Nandni.

"Going to bat first. Very important game for us, we thought let's just bat freely. One change. Kranti back in place of Nandni. These kind of pitches suit her. It's a fresh day, fresh mind. Today is the day to enjoy ourselves." Harmanpreet Kaur said.

Australian captain Sophie Molineux was happy to bowl first and chase the target set by the Indian team. The Aussie captain made changes to her team, too with an eye on the semi-final.

"Actually, we were going to have a bowl. Pheebs is back in, Alana King is missing out. Just conditions and matchups." Sophie Molineux said.

South Africa's narrow win against Bangladesh in the earlier match means that the Indian team will need to beat Australia to qualify for the final four. The ‘Women in Blue' have a better NRR than South Africa and will qualify with a win tonight.

India suffered their only defeat of the tournament so far in their match against South Africa on Sunday night, putting the Proteas in a stronger position in the table.

Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana will be the key for the Indian team, along with her opening partner Shafali Varma, as they look to put a competitive total on the board for the bowlers to defend. Australia have already qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Confirmed Playing 11 for both teams:

Australia Women (Playing XI): Beth Mooney(w), Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux(c), Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton

India Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh Thakur, Kranti Gaud