India are sweating over the fitness of captain Harmanpreet Kaur ahead of their crucial group league clash against Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Wednesday.

There was some good news on Harmanpreet’s fitness status after she sprained her neck and retired hurt in the last over of their chase against Pakistan. She was reportedly available to play though a final call will be taken before the start.

In case she fails to make it, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana will lead the side. Pooja Vastrakar though is unlikely to take part having missed Sunday’s match due to a niggle with S. Sajana replacing her.

India suffered a 58-run loss against New Zealand in their opening game but managed to get past Pakistan in Dubai by six wickets on Sunday. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are yet to win a game.

They lost their opening match against lower-ranked Pakistan by 31 runs and then went down to Australia by six wickets on Saturday.

India hold the advantage by a 19-5 margin in T20Is against Sri Lanka. But one of those five defeats was in the Asia Cup final in July.

India will be keen to avenge that loss and for that they need a big win to bolster their net run-rate.

Their problem is that their batters, especially the opening pair of Shafali Verma and Smriti, have failed to fire.

Australia excel

Australia’s all-round show helped them complete a comprehensive 60-run win over New Zealand on Tuesday. They now have two wins from two matches and have a good chance of making the semi-finals.

Brief scores: Australia 148/8 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 40; Amelia Kerr 4/26). NZ 88 in 19.2 overs (Amelia Kerr 29; Megan Schutt 3/3, Annabel Sutherland 3/21). Australia won by 60 runs.