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Smriti Mandhana believes the gap between India and Australia in women's cricket has narrowed significantly, thanks to greater exposure through leagues like the Women's Big Bash League and the Women's Premier League.
She credited India's steady progress over the past five to six years and said that, particularly in T20 cricket, matches between the two sides are now decided by which team performs better on the day rather than by any clear difference in quality. Mandhana was speaking to the reporters on the eve of India's Women's T20 World Cup clash against Australia in London. India and Australia will face off in a crucial ICC Women's T20 WC Group A match at Lord's in London on Sunday. The game determines semi- finals qualification, with a win securing India's spot in the final four. "I feel the gap has definitely narrowed with a few of our players playing the Big Bash [WBBL], them playing the WPL, and their experiences being shared. And I feel the kind of cricket the Indian team has played in the last four-five years - I wouldn't say only the last two years - but I think it was a build-up over the last five-six-odd years, how steadily I think we've played. And definitely, of course, that gap has narrowed down, and I just feel now at this moment, especially in T20 cricket, it's just about whichever team is having a good day is going to win the match," Mandhana said. India will draw confidence from their 2-1 T20I series triumph over Australia earlier this year on Australian soil. After the series was locked at 1-1, India sealed the decider in Adelaide, with Smriti Mandhana producing a match-winning 82 off 55 balls to earn the Player of the Match award. Mandhana felt that India would take confidence from their recent T20 success in Australia ahead of their crucial clash. She credited the Women's Premier League for helping Indian players handle high-pressure situations better and expressed hope that the team would draw on those experiences to deliver their best performance in the must-win encounter. "Yeah, we did well in the T20 format in Australia. We'll take a lot of confidence from that. And also, with the WPL, I feel the girls are very well-prepped in terms of taking the high-pressure games a little better than we could before. So hopefully we can take all of those experiences and memories and play the best we can tomorrow," Mandhana said ahead of their crunch game against the same opposition, which will decide their knockout fate. Mandhana also acknowledged the significance of India's must-win clash against Australia, saying the team is focused on sticking to its plans, working hard, and taking confidence from its recent success against the reigning champions. "We are all really looking forward to it. A very important match for us, a must-win for us to go through. Having said that, we'll stick with the processes. We'll go out there, work hard, work really hard, and try to put up the best we can. It's an important match and I'm sure everyone is aware of that. But having said that, we have done well against them and we'll take that confidence ahead," Mandhana concluded. (ANI)
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