Australia remain strong even without Alyssa Healy, says Harmanpreet ahead of T20 World Cup clash | Cricket News:

Indian captain: Harmanpreet Kaur: says her team will focus on its own game rather than Australia’s record when the two sides meet in what will decide India’s place in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.India take on Australia at Lord’s in their final Group A match, knowing that a win will improve their chances of reaching the last four.

Speaking to JioStar, Harmanpreet said that Australia remains one of the strongest teams despite the retirement of Alyssa Healy.“We recently played a T20I series against Australia at home, and we performed well. That series gave us confidence. It’s not that after Alyssa Healy’s retirement, Australia has become weaker. They are still a very strong side. They have a deep pool of players and a system that continues to produce quality cricketers. A player leaving doesn’t change that,” Kaur said.Australia, led by the all-rounder Sophie Molineuxhave won all their four matches so far in the tournament. Another win against India will confirm their place in the semi-finals.Harmanpreet praised Molineux’s leadership, saying, “Sophie Molineux is also a great captain. She leads from the front and knows how to get the best out of her players. She is calm under pressure and reads the game well. She has been part of this Australian setup for a long time, so she understands the dynamics of the team.“He added, “We always give them tough competition in big tournaments. The mindset remains the same; we will give our best, work hard, and try to dominate them in every department. We know they are a strong team, but we also know we have the ability to match them.The Indian captain said his team was concentrating on its own plans instead of taking time to think about Australia’s strength.“We know Australia has good cricketers. They have world-class players in every department. But we don’t spend much time thinking about them. We focus on our own skills. We talk about what we need to do on match day, our batting plans, our bowling length, and our fielding patterns. We talked about how we can perform our skills under pressure,” he said.He concluded, “We know what Australia has achieved in the past, but that doesn’t matter when we go on the field. It’s only about what we can do and how we deliver to win that match. So, we keep focusing on ourselves. We talk about our strengths and how we can use them against them. That’s what we will continue to do.”