Former Australia speedster Brett Lee thinks a cracking final will take place in Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday between India and Australia. Although he will support Australia, he feels an Indian victory will be a major breakthrough for the women’s game in the cricket-mad country – India. Lee shared his thought in his column for ICC.
He further shared that this event could be a major breakthrough especially with the amount of talent that is found in the tournament so far and the former speedster said Australia will have to look for ways to dismiss the in-form 16-year-old Shafali Verma who has been in a prolific form and doing wonders since long.
“In Shafali Verma, India boasts one of the most talented players in the world and you feel that for Australia to win the game, dismissing her will likely be their first job. I’ve been so impressed with the opener – it’s staggering to believe she’s only 16 with the confidence she has in her own ability and the way she strokes the ball so cleanly,” Brett Lee said.
“She’s such good fun to watch and I’m not sure the women’s game has seen anyone like her for such a long time.”
Shafali has smashed 161 runs so far in the tournament which came at a strike rate of 161 and consistently helped India with flying starts, and that helped India win several games too. Having made her debut last year, she has become the number 1 T20I batter in ICC ranking within a short period of time by beating renowned players like Suzie Bates, her opening partner Smriti Mandhana etc.
However, Lee thinks this experience will help her in future years as well. Even Lee thinks Shafali Verma has many things to offer as well with her fearless brand of cricket. Moreover, her formidable form can help her score big in MCG as well. However, India’s title win is severely dependent on her form since the middle order failed to step up and apart from her the bowlers are doing the rest of the job.
India started their campaign with a convincing win over Australia. After that, they beat Bangladesh, new Zealand and Sri Lanka convincingly before reaching the final on the back of being the table-topper since their semi-final clash against England was washed out.
