India will gain confidence vs Australia from recent T20I series win: Shafali Verma

Indian opener Shafali Verma believes the team’s recent success against Australia will give them the belief they need ahead of their crucial Women’s World T20 at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Sunday. While acknowledging Australia’s status as one of the strongest sides in women’s cricket, Shafali insisted that India have already shown they have what it takes to beat the six-time champions.

India are still aiming to reach the semi-finals and a win would secure them a place in the last four. “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 gives us confidence,” Shafali said on Adidas Match Center Live on JioStar.

The confidence stems from India’s memorable 2-1 T20I series triumph in Australia earlier this year, their first bilateral T20I series win on Australian soil since 2016. After the opening match was decided in India’s favor by DLS, Australia bounced back in Canberra to level the series. However, India responded brilliantly in the Adelaide decider.

Smriti Mandhana played a brilliant 82 while Jemimah Rodrigues hit 59 as India posted 176/6. The bowlers then produced a disciplined performance with Shree Charani claiming three wickets and Shreyanka Patil producing another impressive spell to seal a historic 17-run win and the series.

‘WE WILL KEEP IT GOING’

Australia have dominated women’s cricket for over a decade and hold the lead in T20Is against India, having won 28 of the 38 completed matches between the two sides. However, recent competitions suggest that the gap is steadily closing.

India’s recent 2-1 T20I series triumph in Australia was particularly significant as it marked their first bilateral series win on Australian soil in a decade, underscoring the ability of Harmanpreet Kaur’s side to challenge the six-time world champions in their own backyard.

Shafali also believes that India’s familiarity with the Australian attack could play in the team’s favour.

“We’ve been playing against them for years. We know their bowlers, their strengths and their schemes. So we’ll keep things straight, which is important, and we’ll play to our own strengths. The more you overthink it, the harder it will be,” she said.

India went into the contest knowing that a win could prove decisive in their quest to progress further in the Women’s World T20 Cup. After a five-wicket win over Bangladesh, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side finished second in Group A with six points and an impressive net rate of +2.268, well placed for a decider against Australia.

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Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

27 Jun 2026 17:08 IST