Australia vs India Women T20 World Cup Preview & Tips - Australia to hand India World Cup ending defeat

India Women all but ended Bangladesh's hopes of securing a knockout spot in the World Cup with a five-wicket victory. 

Their last outing against Pakistan ended in a commanding performance with bat and ball. Batting first, Ellyse Perry led the way with a score of 71 from 48, with this helping the Aussies to set an imposing score of 199/7. In reply, Pakistan were never really in the game as they lost regular wickets. There was a mini fightback from 30/3 to 50/3, but Pakistan then lost seven wickets for just 36 runs. While Pakistan were poor with the bat, they were given no room to work with by Australia. 

Now, Australia face their toughest test of the group stage. Their clash with India constitutes a huge opportunity to eliminate their opponents from the tournament. If the Aussies win their match and South Africa beat Bangladesh, then India will not finish in the top two. 

While some sides would be content with potentially resting key players with a tight turnaround between semi-finals and the final ahead, I predict that Australia will go for the win. They will want nothing more than to knock India out, and I believe that Ellyse Perry, who scored 71 from 48 against Pakistan in their last outing, will star once again. 

Their five-wicket win was built on restricting Bangladesh to an entirely chaseable 136/8 before storming to their target with five wickets and 19 deliveries to spare. The 2026 World Cup has seen a number of matches end without all 20 wickets falling. This simply means having bowlers that can restrict the opposition's run scoring even when they are not taking wickets is crucial. India have these bowlers and will hope they can star in their final group game. 

However, the big worry for India will be that they have not been great against Australia in their recent meetings. Three wins across their last 10 matches in the T20 game is a worrying tally, while they were handed a big six-wicket defeat by South Africa in their last game against a top side. 

While India will be raring to go as they look to extend their World Cup campaign, I do not back them to win this one as they slump to an early World Cup exit.