LIVE: Australia building strong total despite Renuka double strike

Match Centre and Scorecard

Toss: Australia won the toss and opted to bat first

Australia’s stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath won the toss and decided to bat first against India at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

But it was India who enjoyed the better of the opening stages, as Renuka Singh struck twice in two balls to remove Beth Mooney (2) and Georgia Wareham (0) to leave Australia in need of a rebuild.

WATCH: Renuka's near hat-trick rattles Australia top-order | WT20WC 2024

It could have been an even better start for India, with new opener Grace Harris appearing to edge a flick down the leg side, but Richa Ghosh not able to hold on as she moved across.

Australia reached 37/2 at the end of the powerplay, with Harris and McGrath leading the recovery.

And the partnership accelerated towards the midway point of the innings to leave Australia with a solid platform at 65/2.

The defending champions had earlier confirmed two changes to their team, with Harris and Darcie Brown replacing the injured pair of Alyssa Healy and Tayla Vlaeminck.

India also made two switches to their playing XI as Pooja Vastrakar returned at the expense of Sajeevan Sajana and Radha Yadav was a late replacement for Asha Sobhana.

A statement released by India revealed that the second change occurred just prior to the game, with the ICC Match Referee and Australia’s captain both agreeing to the switch.

“Ms Asha Sobhana is unable to participate in the today’s game against Australia after she suffered a knee injury during the warm-up on the sidelines of toss,” the media release said.

“Radha Yadav will replace Asha in the Playing XI. The ICC Match Referee requested the Australian captain who agreed to the request for a replacement in India’s Playing XI.

"The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring Asha’s progress.”

Australia also have injuries to deal with after Vlaeminck was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament and captain Healy arrived in Sharjah on crutches ahead of the match.

Australia released a statement prior to the toss, stating that Healy could yet play a part in the tournament should Australia qualify for the knockout stages, with Tahlia McGrath confirmed as captain in her absence.

"Tayla Vlaeminck dislocated her right shoulder during Friday night’s match," the media release said. "She will miss the remainder of the tournament, with all-rounder Heather Graham to come into the squad as a replacement player for Vlaeminck.

"Alyssa Healy is unavailable for tonight’s game after suffering a foot injury on Friday night. She will continue to be assessed over the coming days and should Australia qualify for the semi finals, her availability will be determined in due course.

"Tahlia McGrath will captain Australia in its final pool match against India this evening, with Ellyse Perry confirmed as vice-captain."

The Teams

India: 1 Shafali Verma, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 4 Jemimah Rodriguez, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Pooja Vastrakar, 8 Arundhati Reddy, 9 Shreyanka Patil, 10 Radha Yadav, 11 Renuka Singh

Australia: 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Grace Harris , 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Ashleigh Gardner, 5 Phoebe Litchfield, 6 Tahlia McGrath (capt), 7 Georgia Wareham, 8 Annabel Sutherland, 9 Sophie Molineux, 10 Megan Schutt, 11 Darcie Brown

All matches at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 will be held in the two host cities of Dubai and Sharjah.

Fans can purchase tickets online or directly at the stadiums, for more information on where to buy click here.