Group A Set to Ignite Fierce Battles at ICC Womens T20 World Cup 2024

The ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2024 will be the most competitive version of the competition ever held, and Group A perfectly illustrates why.

Five of the top eight teams in the Women's T20I Team Rankings are in Group A, which is quite competitive despite the 10 teams being evenly divided into two groups.

The countries that will compete to place in the top two and advance to the semi-finals are listed below.
 

Australia

The greatest dynasty in women's tennis history takes the court as the top-ranked team.

Australia will try to win the ICC Women's T20 World Cup for the fourth consecutive year. They have won all 20 of their matches at ICC global championships.

Since Meg Lanning retired last year, Alyssa Healy has taken the helm. The keeper-batter is also their top run scorer in Twenty20 international cricket, having amassed 440 runs in the past 12 months.

The squad's losses to South Africa, the West Indies, and England in the series sent shockwaves throughout the world; Shelley Nitschke's team will be the talk of the town in the United Arab Emirates.

India

India has advanced to at least the semifinals in three of the last five ICC Women's T20 World Cups—in 2018, 2020, and 2023.

The formidable opening duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma will be crucial to their chances of improving and taking home the trophy for the first time.

Women's cricket in India is gaining popularity, and the national side has all the necessary resources to succeed in the UAE thanks to a strong spin assault.

Both their highly anticipated matchup with Australia, whom they lost to in the 2020 final, and their unexpected loss to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final will make for exciting viewing.

New Zealand

Ranked fourth in the Women’s T20I Team Rankings, New Zealand will be motivated to prove that they remain one of the top sides in the world.

Despite registering two wins on each occasion, the White Ferns have not reached the knockout stages of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup since 2016.

They have lost their last 10 T20I matches too, albeit those defeats have come in tough assignments against England and Australia.

To turn things around they will look to experienced hands in captain Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates, both playing at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for the ninth time.

Pakistan

Pakistan, hoping to advance to the tournament's knockout rounds for the first time, will try to match fire with fire in Group A.

The team, led by 22-year-old Fatima Sana, has an intriguing mix of experience and youth that could work well on courts that allow for spins.

Pakistan, who have historically been cautious when playing powerplay, recently defeated South Africa with their highest-ever T20I total of 181 runs and have released their top-order batsmen.

They will try to cause a few upsets with seasoned players like Nida Dar, Diana Baig, and Muneeba Ali in charge.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, ranked seventh in the Women's T20I Team Rankings, will look to highlight their most recent advancements on the grandest platform of them all.

With the confidence of winning the Asia Cup for the first time, owing to an outstanding 69 from in-form batsman Harshitha Samarawickrama against India in the final, Chamari Athapaththu's team arrives in the United Arab Emirates.

They have also triumphed over South Africa, England, and New Zealand for the first time since the previous ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

With their ninth participation in the event, expectations will be high that they can contend for victories and possibly go past the group stages for the first time.