'You don't need to tell us that you're below the NRR': Shafali Verma ahead of must-win Australia clash to qualify for Women's T20 World Cup 2024 semifinals

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024: India need a win against defending champions Australia to stay in contention of the semifinal spot.

Sports Tak

• Sun • 13 Oct 2024

Pooja Vastrakar and Shafali Verma

Highlights:

Shafali Verma said that the team is well aware of the NRR situation.

Shafali has two half-centuries against Australia in the format.

The road to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 became tough for India after they were comprehensively beaten by New Zealand in their campaign opener. Despite two consecutive wins over Pakistan and Sri Lanka, India’s net run rate (NRR) is still within reach of New Zealand if they beat Pakistan on October 14. India face defending champions Australia on October 13 and even a win may not guarantee them a spot in the last four. Indian opener Shafali Verma who is yet to showcase her destructive best in the tournament said that the team is well aware of the NRR situation and don’t need a reminder from everyone.

"We all know that net run rate is going on and we keep playing it. And I think if you are playing in the Indian team, you don't need to tell us that you're below the NRR. Because everyone is very mature and everyone is seeing everything. So, I think it's not something to say. But of course, we have the NRR in our minds. And we'll keep a focus on it," Shafali said as quoted by the ICC.

Shafali’s record against Australia

Shafali has registered scores of 2, 32 and 43 in the group stage of the tournament so far. Her strike rate has been impressive on slow pitches of Dubai. At Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the Under-19 T20 World Cup-winning captain will have a chance to better her record against Australia. The young opener has scored 416 runs from 19 innings against Australia at an average of 23.11 including two fifties. her strike rate of 139.13 is impressive against Australia given the conditions in UAE.

India’s qualification scenarios

Currently, India's NRR is +0.576. New Zealand are not far behind with a NRR of +0.282. If India beat Australia, their eyes will be on the clash between Pakistan and New Zealand. They will hope that White Ferns don't beat Pakistan or even if they do, their NRR does not surpass them.

There is a second scenario for India’s qualification. If India lose to Australia, they will need Fatima Sana-led Pakistan to beat New Zealand. In that case, Pakistan, New Zealand and India will have two wins each at the group stage. The team with higher NRR will progress to the next stage.