After beating New Zealand to earn their maiden appearance in the final, India's women cricketers are seeking to achieve what their male counterparts could not do two years back beating Australia and winning the World Cup.
The side, which is in sublime form, having lost just one match in the competition so far, will face an uphill task against four-time winners Australia at Supersport Park, Centurion, on Sunday.
But if the form of their players in the tournament is any indication, India could very well rewrite history by surprising their formidable opponents for the coveted title.
The team's recent performance in a one-day series against Australia at home was highly commendable when they showed a lot of character despite losing the series 3-4.
India's only concern is the fitness of their captain Mithali Raj, who is nursing a knee injury.
Mithali was instrumental in the win against New Zealand in the semi-finals, where she struck an unbeaten 91 to earn the player of the match award.
The Indian captain, however, is confident of taking the field in the all-important tie.
"I will definitely play the final. I cannot just leave my team now. I suffered the injury while playing the Nationals before the World Cup, and it had almost healed, but I don't need to worry about that," she said.
India have some plans in a bid to conquer the Australians and that includes seeing off the new ball while batting.
"They just have one bowler who is very quick Cathryn Fitzpatrick.
In the first semi-final, England lost the game when Fitzpatrick took three wickets in her first spell, thus exposing the English middle order. We need to keep that in mind and survive the first spell," Mithali said.
Having come thus far in the tournament, India are hoping Mithali, who has so far accumulated 193 runs for a tournament-best average of 65, and senior batswoman Anjum Chopra, who has 170 runs at 42.5, come out firing on all cylinders against a bowling attack, led by seamers Karen Polton (10 wickets) and Fitzpatrick (8 wickets).
The Indian bowlers have so far displayed great discipline in the competition, with Neetu David, Amita Sharma and Jhulan Goswami topping the bowling charts.
Left-arm spinner David has 19 scalps to her credit at an outstanding average of 6.73. Sharma and Goswami have accounted for 13 and 12 wickets respectively with very impressive averages.
Nooshin Al Khader has also chipped in with her off-breaks, claiming 11 wickets at 18.
The Australians, who will be playing in their seventh final, retained their unbeaten record in the tournament when they beat England by 5 wickets in the first semi-final on Tuesday.
Captain Belinda Clark and Fitzgerald, who have four World Cups each, lend experience to the Australians, who would be keen to erase the memory of the final loss to New Zealand in the last edition in 2004.
The odds are also stacked heavily in favour of the Australians, who have won 17 of the 21 encounters between the two teams.
Their match against India in the league phase of this tournament had to be abandoned due to heavy rain.
If Mithali and her girls manage to do the task that appears nearly impossible, they would achieve what Sourav Ganguly-led Indians could not in 2003.
Ganguly's men had lost to Ricky Ponting's Australia in the World Cup final in Johannesburg.
Teams:
India: Mithali Raj (Capt), Jaya Sharma, Hemlata Kala, Neetu David, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Amita Sharma, Deepa Maratrhe, Rumeli Dhar, Arundhati Kirkire, Anju Jain (wk), Jhulan Goswami, Anjum Chopra, Karuna Jain (wk), Reema Malhotra.
Australia: Belinda Clark (Capt),Karen Rolton (V-Capt),Alex Blackwell, Kate Blackwell, Louise Broadfoot, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Julie Hayes, Melanie Jones, Lisa Keightley, Shelley Nitschke, Julia Price (wk), Clea Smith, Lisa Sthalekar, Emma Twining.
Umpires: Shaun George and Zed Ndamane.
TV Umpire: Walter Liebisch.
Fourth Umpire: Dennis Smith
Match Referee: Cyril Mitchley.
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