Australia is beatable, says Richa ahead of last-4 clash

CAPE TOWN: Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh on Wednesday said that India has plans in place to stop Australia in the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final contest on Thursday, adding that the side is up for the challenge.

“Australia is comfortable chasing because it bats deep, we do too, but toss is not in anyone’s hand. So, whatever the situation is, we will have to get on with it. We have plans,” Richa, India’s best finisher by a distance, said on the eve of the last-four clash.

“We do not know how the pitch will behave [on Thursday], but it looks nice. We can target 180 on this [surface] if all our batters click. While bowling (if bowling first), we will try to restrict it (Australia) to 140-150 because it has a good batting line-up,” Richa said.

Australia has been India’s bogey team in recent years, but Richa said that Meg Lanning’s side is beatable. The five-time World T20 champion Australia has been a dominant force in the shortest format since winning the last edition at home in 2020 .

“Australia is beatable. In our last series, we beat it (India lost the series 1-4 eventually) and we have also done it before. It is a strong team, but we can beat it. We are trying to improve our mindset. Everyone has the game, but the team that is mentally strong will win. We have been working on that,” said Richa.

India has unearthed a finisher in the 19-year-old Richa and the youngster has not disappointed. Talking about her game, she said: “There are ups and downs always, even I had them, but I have learnt a lot from them – how you can handle a situation. When I go [out] to bat, my handling of pressure has improved.”