Smriti Mandhana reveals India’s mindset ahead of must-win clash with Australia in Women’s T20 World Cup | Cricket News:

India vice-captain: Smriti Mandhana said the team will maintain an aggressive approach when they take on Australia in their must-win Women’s T20 World Cup match on Sunday. With a place in the semi-finals at stake, India knew that a win against the six-time champions would almost certainly ensure their progress after finding themselves in a tight race with South Africa. Speaking ahead of the crucial encounter, Mandhana admitted that India’s batting unit has not been as consistent as they would like in the tournament so far. “It’s a big game obviously. We’ve all talked a lot about how we really want to play that aggressive brand of cricket and that’s something we’ll all look to do tomorrow,” he said.Mandhana believes India has narrowed the gap with Australia significantly in the last few years, thanks to increased exposure to franchise cricket and experience in high-pressure matches. He pointed to India’s recent success in Australia and the impact of tournaments like the Women’s Premier League.“We did well in the T20 format in Australia. We’ll take a lot of confidence from that. With the WPL, I feel the girls are also very well prepared in terms of taking the high pressure games a little better than what we could before,” he said.“But, yes, again, I feel the gap has definitely narrowed. With some of our players playing in the Big Bash, the experience is shared and I feel the kind of cricket that the Indian team has played in the last four, five years – the gap is narrowing.”

Mandhana opens Shafali

The left-handed opener also expressed hope that he and Shafali Verma can give India a strong start against Australia after struggling for consistency in recent matches.“We had a very quiet series in England. Both of us are really pumped to get back to giving a good start for India because, of course, every time we lay the foundation, more or less, we are in a good place,” said Mandhana.He also revealed that conversations with former Australia opener Matthew Hayden and Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara helped him improve his batting.“I have a look up to Sangakkara sir and Matthew Hayden quite a lot. I remember even in my bad days, I would watch their videos. So, when I saw him (Hayden) doing the commentary, I got really excited,” he said.“We have a good discussion and I want to know a few things about the grip etc. I also told him that the chat before the Australia game, I don’t know if you want to do that, but he is nice and sweet. He shared a lot of things, which I hope I can use in my batting.”