Women's T20 World Cup Final, India vs Australia: Melbourne weather, MCG pitch report

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India will look to clinch their maiden trophy at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's T20 World Cup when they square off with defending champion and four-time winner Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday. 

On Thursday, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side made it to the summit showdown of the prestigious tournament for the very first time after their semi-final clash against England was washed out without a ball bowled at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday. 

The Women in Blue progressed after they made a top-place finish in Group A after winning all the four clashes against Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Australia, on the other hand, booked their place in the final for the sixth time in a row after clinching a narrow five-run win over South Africa via Duckworth-Lewis Method in the second semi-final clash in Sydney on Thursday. 

The hosts made a second-place finish behind India in Group A, having sealed back-to-back victories over Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka following their 17-run defeat against the Women in Blue in the tournament opener on February 20. 

India will now look for their first title at the ICC event, while hosts Australia will be keen to clinch their fifth trophy at the Women's T20 World Cup.

As far as weather is concerned, there are no chances of rain and Melbourne is expected to witness perfectly clear sky throughout the clash. The wind will be blowing at a rate of 25 to 35 km/h. The maximum temperature is likely to reach around 23-degree Celsius, while the minimum temperature in Melbourne is expected to record at 13-degree Celcius. 

Meanwhile, the pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is likely to offer a great clash between bat and ball. Usually, it is a bit difficult for the batters to adjust the swing bowling initially. However, the players could smash bowlers all across the park in the latter half. Notably, the average score posted at the venue in the previous five Women's T20I clashes was 116 runs. 

The match will begin at 12:30 pm on Sunday and will be telecast on Star Sports Network. The live streaming of the summit showdown will be available on Hotstar.

The two squads are as follows:

India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Veda Krishnamurthy, Richa Ghosh, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Taniya Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

Australia Women: Meg Lanning (C), Rachael Haynes, Ashleigh Gardner, Delissa Kimmince, Ellyse Perry (ruled out), Erin Burns, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Jess Jonassen, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.