High on Test wins, India look to challenge Australia

India emerged victorious against the Aussies for the first time in Women’s Tests. The famous eight-wicket win is something the team will remember for years to come. Both the sides will now move on to the white-ball format as they kick off the ODI series on at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday (December 28).

Just like that was the case in Tests, the home side has a fairly poor record against Australia in ODIs. A total of 50 matches have been played between the two nations, and India have won only on ten occasions. This time, India has a chance to hit back the Alyssa Healy-led side with their good current form.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s side seem to have found a good rhythm in the long-format cricket. While the ODI format isn’t as long as red-ball cricket, it is still ideal enough if one wants to pick up where they left off in Tests. As for the World Champions Australia, they may have a psychological advantage because of a better head-to-head record, but then again, they are coming up against the side oozing with confidence.

After getting their hands on the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year, Australia had a tough time during the Ashes ODI series. They triumphed in the one-off Test, but failed to win the limited-over series by falling short in both T20Is and ODIs.

Touring Ireland next, they managed to make amends by winning the 50-over series 2-0. Before travelling to India, the Aussies hosted the West Indies. It was another fruitful tour for them as they won the ODI series 2-0. India's last ODI series came during the Bangladesh tour where they tied the hosts 1-1 in an eventful series that saw criticism of the umpiring and Harmanpreet getting banned for two matches for breaking the stumps on being given out.

What's at stake?

This series is not part of the ICC Women's Championship for the 2022-25 cycle as that will be an away series to be played in Australia before the ICC World Cup 2025 in India. With no multi-format point system in play as well, the teams will be using this to iron out their flaws and find a combination that will serve them in the cycle in the lead up to the World Cup although the tournament is more than an year away. Australia will be looking gauge the conditions that are they likely to face in the global event.

Players to watch:

Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana enjoyed her time on the crease in the Test match, scoring 74 runs in the first innings and hitting the winning runs in the second innings. She also has a terrific record against Australia in one day cricket averaging 39.18 runs with a trike rate of 96.85.

Mandhana’s display against England needed working on and she delivered in the Test against Australia. It looked like the southpaw is getting back on her feet and India will be hoping for more of the same from her as well.

Ellyse Perry

Australia’s star allrounder Ellyse Perry lived up to her name throughout the year. She contributed efficiently in the Ashes ODI series, being one of the players who could go home with her head held high. She scored 185 runs in three ODI matches against England. Continuing her electric form in Dublin, she hit 91 runs in the second ODI against Ireland.

Although Perry did not manage to have the best time in the Test match, her ODI numbers this year speak for themselves and a dominant display is expected from her in the three-match ODI series against India.

Predicted XI

India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur 

Australia: Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Jess Jonassen, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown