Last Update: February 26, 2023, 09:21 IST
Australia to face hosts South Africa in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final (IANS)
Lanning feels the pressure will be on everyone as the stakes are as high as they get in Australia’s summit clash against hosts South Africa
Series winners Australia are taking nothing lightly ahead of their ICC Women’s T20I World With South Africa captain Meg Lanning reaching the final for the first time in the Cup 2023, the performance looks like the pressure will be on everyone since the summit clash.
Australia have topped five of the seven ICC Women’s T20 World Cups but have never faced the hosts in the showpiece before.
Lanning and his teammates expect little support when they step into Newlands on Sunday, but they are up for the challenge.
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He said, ‘There is pressure on everyone, it is the World Cup final. South Africa is playing really good cricket. We are hoping that they will come out and play to their full potential. “They’re riding a wave of emotion, so we’re definitely up for it,” Lanning said at the pre-match press conference.
There was an incredible atmosphere in their semi-final against England and the crowd were definitely cheering for the home team, as you would expect here, so we are ready for that.
“We know we’re probably not going to be the team that everyone is cheering for, but that’s okay, you know it’s going to be an incredible game in an incredible atmosphere and an amazing venue,” the Australian captain said. “
“We’re excited, we can’t wait to get out there and play and there’s no doubt it’s going to be a great competition,” she said.
Australia reached their seventh successive final after a thrilling five-run victory over India, a victory described by Lanning as “one of the best”.
With another tense clash against the hosts expected in Cape Town, Lanning hopes his nervousness will serve as perfect preparation for the tense last-four clash.
“Being in pressure situations first helps us, you learn a lot in that time and we learned a lot from the semi-final where we were under the pump,” he added.
It reiterated to us that you have to stay in the game and be ready to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes your way. We were able to do that the other day, we need to make sure we are ready to do it again but there are going to be moments when South Africa are on top.
They will have the momentum, the crowd will be on their side and we accept that. But when we get our chance to really make our mark on the game and play the way we want to, we have to make sure we do that because that’s how we’re going to win the game,” Lanning said.
Having announced only six months ago that she was taking an indefinite break from cricket due to personal reasons, Lanning is determined to make the most of this opportunity.
“These are the sports you want to be involved in, you never know when your next chance might be,” she said.
Lanning concluded, “I’m very relaxed, enjoying the opportunity, and really embracing everything that comes with it.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)