India ‘know what we have to do’ in semi against Australia: captain Kaur

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur knows playing Australia is always a daunting task, and the occasion of a Women’s T20 World Cup semifinal will only heighten expectations on both teams to perform.

The sides meet at Newlands in Cape Town on Thursday in the first semifinal.

Kaur celebrated her 150th T20 international in India’s win by five runs via Duckworth Lewis-Stern method against Ireland at St George’s Park on Monday.

The 33-year-old may not have contributed much by way of runs after being dismissed for just 4, but top-order batter Smriti Mandhana did, clubbing 87 runs off just 56 deliveries, including nine boundaries and three sixes to help India to a competitive 155-6.

Ireland, despite losing two wickets in the first over of their chase, fought back valiantly, as skipper Lauren Delany and Gaby Lewis put on 53, taking them to 54-2 when the rain came, which decided the match as the Irish fell six runs short.

Kaur said her charges are chomping at the bit to have a go at the five-time world champions.

“Australia have played very well in this tournament. They have been unbeaten and have always been doing well. And when we get a chance to play against them, our motive is to play good cricket," she said.

“Whenever our team has played with freedom, we have always won big matches.

“So I think our main motive will be to stay in a good mindset, stay positive and back ourselves.”

India were humbled by the powerful Aussies in the same format in December, slumping to a 4-1 home series defeat.

Kaur said that series gave them a chance to study the nuances of Australia and what makes them tick.

“I think that series gave us a lot of confidence [through] the brand of cricket we played. We know them well. We played five games back-to-back, we know their strengths, their weaknesses and what we have to do.”

On becoming the first male or female to reach the unique milestone of 150 matches, Kaur said: “I think it is a huge achievement for me because I never thought I would be the one who would play the most T20 [international] games.”

In that time, Kaur has struck a shade more than 3,000 runs and averaged just under 28. She has also notched up one century and nine 50s along the way.