Preview: India Take on New Zealand For a Spot in World Cup Semis

“You can’t just give up because you lose one game,” said Indian skipper Mithali Raj.

• India take on New Zealand in a do-or-die match of the ICC Women’s World Cup on Saturday.
  
  
• India are fourth on the points table with 8 points and New Zealand are fifth with 7 points.
  
  
• Australia, England and South Africa have already qualified for the semi-finals.
  
  
• The match is scheduled to start at 3 pm IST. In India, the match can be watched live on Hotstar, while in New Zealand it will be live on Sky Sport7 and Hotstar.

After four consecutive wins and then two back-to-back wins, India face a do-or-die situation when they take on New Zealand in a virtual quarterfinal of the ICC Women's World Cup in Derby.

Currently placed fourth on the points table, a loss on Saturday will shatter India's semi-final hopes.

In Bristol, India were defeated by a dominant Australia by eight wickets, despite a fighting century from Punam Raut and a record-breaking 69 from captain Mithali Raj.

Whoever wins on Saturday will secure the last remaining semi-final spot with hosts England, South Africa and defending champions Australia already qualifying for the last four.

The Indians batted unexpectedly slow on a track that was offering a bit of turn and grip. After the early dismissal of Smriti Mandhana, skipper Raj and Raut started slowly, allowing the Australian spinners to dictate terms.

You can’t just give up because you lose one game. India has always had the problem that when faced with the crunch matches, the team does not necessarily step up. 

Mithali Raj, Indian Captain

In trying to stabilise the innings after an early wicket, Raj, who became the highest ODI run-scorer during that knock and the first woman to score more than 6,000 ODI runs, played uncharacteristically slow, using up 54 balls for her first 20 runs, and finished on a 114-ball 69.

Opener Mandhana's bat surprisingly became quiet after impressive knocks in the first two games and India would be hoping for the left-hander to deliver the goods tomorrow and set the platform for the innings.

India would expect the likes of Mandhana, Raut and Harmanpreet Kaur, besides Deepti Sharma and Raj to fire in unison against the fierce New Zealand.

The girls are so talented, but it’s just a matter of how well they pull themselves up after a defeat. That’s what makes world champions

Mithali Raj, Indian Captain

On the bowling front, pace spearhead Jhulan Goswami has looked a pale shadow of herself in the tournament so far and the Indians would be relying on their spinners – Deepti, Ekta Bisht, Harmanpreet and Poonam Yadav to take the responsibility on their shoulders.

Fielding too has been a problem area for India throughout the tournament. In the first three games alone, India dropped eight catches.

In the game against South Africa, they allowed at least 10 runs on the field through misfields while against Australia, there were some very basic mistakes.

We really have to improve all over the pitch, especially producing more consistency from how we are bowling and fielding. I think our bowlers need to be more consistent in terms of their areas and bowling the good balls

Mithali Raj, Indian Captain

Just like India, New Zealand too are facing a must-win situation and are currently lying at the fifth spot in the standings with seven points from eight games.

New Zealand's 75-run loss to England in their last match has put them in a precarious position.

We’ve got what is basically a quarter-final against India and we know we can beat them. But we’ve got to play well because one of us is going home.

Suzie Bates, New Zealand Captain

The equation is simple for the White Ferns heading into the game against India. A loss will see them pack their bags while a win will knock India out.

If New Zealand win and Australia beat South Africa by a big margin, they could also move to the third spot.

(With inputs from PTI.)

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