Australia's 'incredible depth' gives them edge over India: Lanning

Dubai, Oct 29 (PTI) Former skipper Meg Lanning feels Australia's "incredible depth" which has been in full display throughout the tournament gives the seven-time champions an edge over India in the women's ODI World Cup semifinals in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.

Defending champions Australia are chasing their record-extending eighth title in the tournament and they are the only unbeaten side in the tournament. Australia had beaten India by three wickets in the league stage.

"I think Australia have just got incredible depth. They've shown throughout the tournament that they're not reliant on one or two players," Lanning told 'ICC Review'.

"And even if they do lose some early wickets with the bat, there's some real big power towards the backend that can sort of get them out of different situations," said 33-year-old Lanning, who won the World Cup twice, including once as captain.

Lanning believes India will miss the scoring power of injured opener Pratika Rawal and reckons that the time is right for captain Harmanpreet Kaur to step up and deliver.

"For India, I am going to go with captain Harmanpreet Kaur. She's had a good tournament, but she's probably yet to really explode and dominate a game.

"And for me, that makes me a touch nervous because it feels like she's due to do that. And when she gets going, she's pretty impossible to stop so she's the key player for India." Lanning predicted former teammate Beth Mooney to play a vital role for the Australians.

"For Australia it has to be Beth Mooney as she can come in at any situation in the innings and adapt accordingly. If there's a really good foundation set, she's able to keep that momentum going," said the batting legend.

"And we've also seen that if there's a couple of quick wickets, she's able to sort of work her way through those innings.

"So we've seen through the tournament that there has been clumps of wickets falling. So I think the players who can manoeuvre their way through those situations have become really important, especially in big crunch games." Lanning also predicted a win for England in the first semifinals against South Africa in Guwahati. PTI PDS PDS APA APA