When Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand and Australia clash in the Women’s T20 World Cup Group A match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium today, one team that will be watching their game with keen interest will be India. The result of this match will determine which route Team India will have to take to reach the semi-finals. Having already lost to the White Ferns, India will be praying that the Kiwis get the better of the Aussies. In that case, when India face Australia in their last league game, they will be under much less pressure as they will need to simply defeat Australia without bothering about the Net Run Rate (NRR), and march into the last four.

An uphill task

In case Australia overcome their southern neighbours, India would then need a big win, not only to grab two crucial points, but also to better Australia’s NRR. That is going to be an uphill task. Of course, these calculations are based on the assumption that all three, India, New Zealand and Australia, will get the better of the two lower-ranked teams, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. There is a good chance of a triple tie on six points, with each of the top three winning three games apiece. That is when the NRR will become crucial. Thus, the Indian team management and fans will be glued to their TV sets to see how things pan out for India.