Indore | With semifinal berths already secured, defending champions Australia and familiar foes England will look to maintain their winning momentum when they face off in a top of the table clash at the ICC Women's World Cup clash here on Wednesday.
Both teams remain unbeaten so far, with four wins and a washout each, but Australia sit comfortably atop the points table owing to a superior net run rate of 1.818 as compared to England's 1.490.
A victory for either side will offer more than just top-of-the-table bragging rights, it will also provide a crucial psychological edge heading into the knockouts which are just around the corner.
Alyssa Healy's Australia have been clinical, if not flawless, through the group stage. They began their campaign with two batting collapses, but rescue acts from Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney steered them past New Zealand and Pakistan.
Since then, their top order, led by skipper Healy, who has notched back-to-back centuries, and the dependable Phoebe Litchfield, has found its rhythm, making them the team to beat once again.
England have struggled against the fast bowlers and the likes of new ball specialist Megan Schutt would be keen to captialise on that.
Australia also hold a massive psychological advantage over England, having annihilated them across formats at home earlier this year.
Having said that, England would be in high spirits following their thrilling win over India at the same venue couple of nights ago.
England's bowlers held their nerve under pressure, with Linsey Smith proving to be a revelation, claiming the key wicket of Smriti Mandhana before defending 13 runs in the final over.
Their bowling attack, disciplined and well-rounded, has been their standout feature. With world's no 1 bowler left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone and off-spinner Charlie Dean providing control, the unit has consistently bailed England out of tight situations.
However, concerns persist over England's batting unit. Much of the run-scoring burden has fallen on seasoned campaigners Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt, who have anchored multiple innings between them.
Amy Jones showed grit with a fifty against India, but alongside fellow opener Tammy Beaumont, has struggled to provide consistent starts.
The middle order, comprising Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb, and Alice Capsey, has endured a torrid tournament, averaging less than 10 between them.
Despite that, the experienced Danni Wyatt-Hodge continues to warm the bench, with head coach Charlotte Edwards remaining bullish about sticking with the same combination.
"We want to back the batting order that we selected at the start of the tournament because that's the one we feel will give us success,” Edwards had said ahead of the clash against India.
Teams (from):
Australia: Alyssa Healy (c&wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney (wk), Georgia Voll, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Darcie Brown, Megan Schutt, Georgia Wareham.
England: Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
Match starts at 3pm IST
