India hoping for fourth time lucky while hosting the Women’s Cricket World Cup

NEW DELHI (AP) – Top-ranked and seven-time champion Australia will be trying to prevent India from winning a Women’s Cricket World Cup at home – yet again – when play begins in the tournament next week.

India hosts Sri Lanka at Guwahati, India, on Tuesday to start the 31-match tournament which culminates with the final on Nov. 2. Matches are also being played in Sri Lanka.

Eight teams are entered – India, defending champions Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

India has previously hosted the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 1978, 1997 and 2013, but failed to win the tournament each time. Its best performance came in 1997, when the hosts lost to Australia in the semifinals at New Delhi.

Led by Harmanpreet Kaur and batter Smriti Mandhana, the third-ranked India team hopes to take it a step further this time. Mandhana has been prolific since the 2022 tournament in New Zealand where India finished fifth – she has 2,100 runs at an average of 58.33 with eight centuries.

“I think our belief has changed a lot with the effort put in,” Mandhana said. “The fight will always be there and everyone in this team believes they are match winners. A lot of things have changed in India for women’s cricket since 2013. We have been waiting for this tournament to come about.”

India’s key strength is spin with bowlers Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana and Radha Yadav.

India and Australia meet on Oct. 9 at Visakhapatnam. In 12 Cricket World Cups, Australia has made the final nine times with its seven wins.

For skipper Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry and Megan Schutt, it could be a final ODI World Cup, which could provide additional motivation. Australia is also buoyed by first-timers in its squad – Sophie Molineux (who returns from a long injury layoff), Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Voll.

It is a team featuring experienced hands and all-rounders to counter varying conditions.

“We are going to play a lot of spin in this World Cup, especially in the middle overs,” Healy said.

The 31 matches are spread across five venues – four in India and one in Sri Lanka at Colombo. India will take on archrivals Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Oct. 5.

Pakistan will play all of its games in Sri Lanka. Under ICC regulations, until 2027, whenever India and Pakistan host a tournament, the other team will play at a neutral venue due to heightened political tensions between the countries.

Second-ranked England arrives with new leadership – Charlotte Edwards is now coach and Nat Sciver-Brunt takes over the captaincy. Eight of its starting XI from the 2022 final are in the squad but its form coming into the tournament has been patchy.

Fourth-ranked New Zealand will be keen to adapt to Indian conditions in order to repeat its success at the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup.

Fifth-ranked South Africa has retained its core from the last two T20 World Cups – captain Laura Wolvaardt and all-rounders Marizanne Kapp and Nadine de Klerk.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will hope to do more than just make up the numbers, especially with the tournament being held in the subcontinent. The Sri Lankans will play all league games at home except for the opener against India and then against Bangladesh in Mumbai on Oct. 20.