"Need to be very careful when playing against Australia": Harbhajan names India's challenge in Women's T20 WC

The cricket extravaganza has begun with Bangladesh winning the tournament opener against Scotland in style. India will begin their hunt for the coveted title on Thursday against a sturdy-looking New Zealand side.

Harbhajan shared his thoughts on the four opponents in the group stage and who Team India should be most wary of and said while speaking to Star Sports, "I think India needs to be very careful when playing against Australia. Looking at this group, India has Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. All these matches will definitely be important. But one match that I think will be a little tough is the India-Australia match."

"Australia is a good team, even though these matches are being played in Dubai, on subcontinent pitches that might not suit them as much as their home conditions. But Australia, no matter where they play, are hard to beat. So, the biggest challenge for India may be Australia. Sri Lanka, too, after their recent series win against India, will be confident when they play against India. So, that will also be a good contest," he added.

India have encountered trouble in the form of Australia during their quest for the T20 title. India reached their first-ever T20 World Cup final in 2020 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a night filled with hope of securing the elusive title. However, Harmanpreet's side folded for 99 while chasing 185 against Australia.

In the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022, India once again was on the cusp of making history, storming into the semi-finals. However, Australia proved to be a stumbling block in the final four, taking away India's hopes to enter the winners' list.

squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan.Travelling reserves: Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor.Non-Travelling Reserves: Raghvi Bist, Priya Mishra. (ANI)