Auckland, March 18
Australia head coach Matthew Mott on Friday felt that the current scenario in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is a good time to play an 'incredibly dangerous' Indian team.
In the current standings of the tournament, Australia are sitting on top with wins in all four matches. India, on the other hand, have blown hot and cold, winning two and losing the same number of matches.
But Mott is not taking India lightly, having seen the Mithali Raj-led side coming close to winning the three-match ODI series last year. Though Australia won the second ODI and series at Mackay by one wicket, their 26-match winning streak in the format was snapped by India, who emerged victorious by two wickets in the third ODI.
"It's a good time to play India. I see them as an incredibly dangerous side. So, we are rolling some confidence at the moment. But as we always say, it's this game in isolation and everything that we're talking about the moments about how we can combat India. I think they've got one of the best new-ball bowling attacks in the world. And we found that out last summer," said Mott in pre-match virtual press conference.
"So once again, we've talked before about negating that, and trying to build a base, is very important. From a bowling perspective, they just keep coming with you know, with genuine match winners. So even if we get off to a good start, we've got to respect that they've got some dangerous players down the order that can hurt us as well. And it's a game that we have to be our very, very best to overcome them and then we'll reset for the next one," added Mott.
Saturday's match at Eden Park will also be the first time Australia and India will meet each other in the World Cup since the semifinal in the 2017 edition. Mott believes that the 36-run loss of Australia, on the back of a whirlwind 171 from Harmanpreet Kaur, will not have any bearing on the minds of his team, which sparked a change in culture and attitude of Meg Lanning's team.
"I suppose it's a non-event internally. We're just looking forward to another match. It's an opportunity to put our case forward for the semifinals, which is what we come here to do. Everyone seems to be beating everyone at the moment. So, to get out in front with another win would be a huge advantage. And then we can sort of dictating our own terms on the finals. There's a lot to play for.
"Literally, the last thing on our mind at the moment is what happened five years ago, so we're just really determined to make every match count. India's our only focus at the moment. We've done a lot of research on them, and we match up well against them. They're a good cricket side but it's going to be a hell of a game tomorrow night."
