India vs Australia Match Prediction: Who will win today's Women's T20 World Cup 2024 match?

India are well and truly up against it in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup. After the defeat to New Zealand in the opening group stage game, the Women in Blue have bounced back well with a narrow win over Pakistan and a comprehensive one over Sri Lanka. However, they still have a lot to do.

Harmanpreet Kaur and company need to beat Australia by a decent enough margin to keep New Zealand at bay. The White Ferns face off against Sri Lanka in their final league game, a match they are favored to win fairly comfortably given how the latter have performed so far in the tournament.

Add that to the fact that India themselves have been far from convincing, and Australia have been Australia, and you have a tricky situation on the cards. The defending champions are doing well at the moment, with three wins in three matches and the best net run rate in Group A, meaning they have virtually qualified for the semifinals already.

India will need a herculean effort to beat them by a decent margin on Sunday. The possibility of a rather difficult surface with the Sharjah Cricket Stadium cannot be ruled out, and that could make matters worse for the side.

India will be slightly boosted by the fact that two of Australia's players, Alyssa Healy and Tayla Vlaeminck, are dealing with injuries that are likely to keep them out of the encounter. Healy, in particular, will be a big loss. However, there's a reason why the Aussies have been the team to watch out for - they have a deep, deep bench.

India will also take heart from the fact that group-stage encounters against Australia in previous editions of the Women's T20 World Cup have gone their way. Can they seal a famous win and keep their semifinal hopes alive? Or will the Aussies graduate from Group A unbeaten?

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2024 Women's T20 World Cup: India face uphill qualification battle

India simply haven't been convincing enough in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup so far. While veterans Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur came up with valuable contributions against Sri Lanka to take the team to a win that significantly boosted their net run rate, they have been off-color on the whole.

The likes of Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Richa Ghosh haven't done much either, and it's safe to say that the Indian batting unit doesn't inspire much confidence right now. The Australian bowlers were close to their best against Pakistan, with Ashleigh Gardner leading the way with a four-wicket haul. If Gardner can prise out Mandhana early, India could be in serious trouble on Sunday.

In the batting department, Australia have plenty of reliability and firepower. Beth Mooney has been as consistent as ever and loves playing against India. While Healy's absence could spark a couple of doubts in the camp, there are surely enough players in the top and middle order who can make up for it.

India's form has shown an upturn of late, but it's safe to say that they are the underdogs for this clash. Australia can be backed to come away with two points on Sunday.

Prediction: Australia to win Match 18 of the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup.