Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur Confident India Can Beat Australia

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur is confident her "best team going into the tournament" can challenge and overcome Australia in the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup 2024 set to be staged in UAE.

Since the tournament's inception in 2009, India have managed to reach the final only once - in 2020 when they lost to nemesis Australia. India have also played WODI World Cup final in 2017. Harmanpreet has been a part of both teams and led in the 2020 T20 World Cup.

In their first-ever T20 World Cup final in 2020 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a night filled with hope of securing the elusive title. But, Harmanpreet's side folded for 99 while chasing 185 against Australia. This time, however, Harmanpreet is optimistic about India's chances.

"Look, their team is good, no doubt about that. They also know that India is one of the teams that can challenge them. I think that is a really positive sign. We know that whenever we play against them, we can beat them any day, any time," Harmanpreet said in a press conference.

"Winning the title after so many years is a great opportunity for us. They know we are a strong team. We just want to play good cricket and stay focused on what will help us beat them.

"If I talk about this team, we have a few players who have been playing for a long time and know their roles really well. I'm quite confident with this team, and I can say that, yes, it's the best team going into the World Cup," she added.

In the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022, India once again came close to making history, storming into the semi-finals. However, Australia proved to be a stumbling block once again in the final four.

The feeling of near misses has haunted Harmanpreet for long but the Indian skipper feels that her team has ticked all the boxes in its bid to cross the line in the Women's T20 World Cup beginning from October 3.

"It was tough last time as we came so close but lost in the semis. But you always need to focus on the positives, work hard on yourself and your fitness. We've tried to tick all the boxes before heading into the tournament," Harmanpreet said.

India will open their Women's T20 World Cup against New Zealand on October 4, while they play their remaining first round group stage matches against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia.