India opener Shafali Verma believes India should keep it simple when facing Australia in a must-win match at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.Sunday’s game will determine which teams from Group A advance to the semifinals. South Africa, who have six points, will face Bangladesh, who have four points. India, who also have six points, will then face Australia, who remain unbeaten with eight points.
If South Africa defeats Bangladesh, India will need to beat Australia to advance to the semi-finals. However, even if they lose the game, the Australian team can still advance because they have already collected 8 points and have a much better net win rate.Speaking on JioStar, Shafali said India was confident of beating Australia after winning the T20I series ahead of the World Cup.“Everyone knows Australia is a world-class team. But it’s not like we haven’t beaten them before. We recently beat them in the T20 series in Australia and that gave us confidence,” she said.India defeated Australia 2-1 in the three-match series and Shafali believes familiarity with the opponents will help.“We’ve been playing them for many years. We know their bowlers, their strengths and their schemes. So, it’s important that we keep things simple and clear and support our own strengths. The more you think about it, the more difficult it becomes.”The opener, who has scored two fifties in the last three innings, said she changed her mindset after the match against Pakistan.“My batting has improved a lot. Before the Pakistan match, I was overthinking. I was planning too much, how I would hit the first ball, what I would hit on the second ball,” she said.“But after that game, I realized I don’t need to complicate things. I just need to keep it simple. When I hit the ball, I look at the ball and react. I don’t plan too far ahead. That helps me score more freely.”Apart from batting, Shafali also contributed with the ball. She has been batting with the new ball in recent games and after taking 3 for 20 against the Netherlands, she took 1 for 22 against South Africa, including the wicket of Tazmin England.She said captain Harmanpreet Kaur gave her a clear role.“Harman Dee made my role very clear. She told me that I have to bowl in the powerplay. So, I worked hard in the nets as well. I bowled with the new ball and focused on hitting the right areas and trying to keep the ball around the stumps.“As an opener, I know that if you bowl outside the stumps, you will give the batsmen room to score runs. So, I always try to bowl based on my expectations as an opener, what kind of line and length bothers me. I keep that in mind; tight lines, stump to stump, let the batsmen run,” she said.Her defense came under scrutiny after India missed several catches during the match, but Shafali backed her teammates.“Everyone is thinking about giving 100 percent effort. No one intentionally drops the ball or turns the ball over. Sometimes, it’s not your day and the ball doesn’t stick, the timing isn’t right, or the bounce surprises you.”“But we always support players who have tough days on and off the field. Our preparations have been good. We had two days of training before this game against Bangladesh. We did a defensive drill together as a team, focusing on catching the ball and defending on the ground for half an hour.“So, I wouldn’t say we’re not prepared well. We’re doing everything we can. It’s just a day-to-day thing. Sometimes things go well, sometimes they don’t. That’s part of the game,” she said.
