Alyssa Healy fit to play in World Cup semifinal clash vs India? Head coach provides big update

New Delhi: Australia will take on India in the second semifinal of the Women's ODI World Cup at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, October 30. The winner of the match will face South Africa in the final on Sunday, November 2, at the same venue.

Both teams have been dealing with massive injury issues ahead of the knockout game. Australian captain Alyssa Healy strained her calf in training after the Bangladesh match and has been sidelined for the last two matches, while India's Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the tournament and replaced by Shafali Verma in the squad.

Healy played a key role in Australia's incredible win against India in the group stage. She scored 142 runs off 107 balls and helped the defending champions chase down a record target of 331 runs. Ahead of the semifinal, Australian head coach Shelley Nitschke spoke in the pre-match press conference and said that the team will wait till the very last moment before taking a call on Healy.

"She trained well yesterday (Tuesday). I'll still give her as much time as she needs to make a call on that (her availability) before the game tomorrow," Nitschke said.

Nitschke said that Australia were expecting a tough fight from the hosts, India, and they have a strong batting order.

"I know that India have a really strong batting order. They throw everything at us, so we certainly need to make sure that we're ready for them, and they bat with a lot of depth now too," she added.

The Australian head coach further added that the semifinals are anyone's game, and she don't think they go in as the underdogs or the favourites.

"It's a pretty level playing field, it promises to be an exciting match and the team that holds their nerve and is able to overcome that pressure of a semifinal should be successful,".

The match will start at 3 PM IST, and it is expected to be a packed house at the DY Patil Stadium.