With 2017 nearly done and over, all eyes are in keen anticipation for 2018, when a new cricket season unravels with vivid expectations for Women’s Cricket.
And 2018 will begin with a stellar start indeed with two of the feistiest sides taking on another.
Specifically for fans who love a mouth-watering treat of viewing the game’s briefest format, the Women’s World T20 2018 will be an epic tournament and one that will see the best in business compete for a coveted title.
But before all of that, two of the world’s imposing; leading sides are set to engage in a close battle in the heart of the Indian sub-continent.
The Australian Women’s team is set to travel to India to contest in what is slated to be exciting, closely fought 3 match ODI series. One wonders what will transpire when a Meg Lanning led outfit undertakes the grilling challenge to counter Mithali Raj’s outfit, one fuelled with big, high ranking names of the class and caliber of Jhulan Goswami, Smriti Mandana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Ekta Bisht and others.
But as far as the recent history between Australia and India Women’s game is concerned, it’s all even stevens at the moment. The two sides clashed twice in the ICC World Cup 2017, a tournament of epic proportions that ultimately saw England prevail over and ahead of close competitors such as India and Australia.
While India saw Australia get the better of their paltry ask of 227 in the league stage, India returned to great form to upset the Aussies in a thrilling contest in the semi-final stage where Mithali Raj’s side defeated Meg Lanning’s by 36 runs.
While fans will remember Harmanpreet’s heroics with the bat, who led from the front with a heroic 171, the Aussies would want to counter her attacking style of play as they travel to India for the first time in nearly a decade.
With three ODI contests set to unravel at the highest stage, all eyes will be hooked to see some of the game’s biggest names clash with one another in an epic duel between the bat and the ball. Who will win the contest between Meg Lanning and Mithali Raj? Who will prevail between arguably the finest cricketer at the moment, Ellyse Perry and Harmanpreet Kaur?
Let’s not forget, Australia are no longer reliant only on the blitzkrieg delivered by their batswomen with top notch seamers like Megan Schutt and Holly Ferling, the duo together comprising for 86 ODI wicket in relatively new careers that have only just begun.
India, on the other hand are perhaps expected to see field a level playing field composite of able spinners and quality fast bowlers with the likes of Ekta Bisht and Shikha Pandey adding more bite to an attack spearheaded by Jhulan Goswami, who would be willing to add to her tally of 195 wickets.
Mithali Raj would of course be expecting her premium seamer to scale a rarity in the Women’s game: the tally of 200 ODI wickets.
But for Goswami to do that, she will have to counter a quality Australian battling line up that is currently being powered by more than just Ellyse Perry, with Alyssa Healy and Ashleigh Gardner being in the pink of form where their recent WBBL exploits are concerned.
And that’s not all. Once the bilateral series between India and Australia is rendered complete, 2017 ICC World Cup winners England are set to land in the sub-continent and compete in a tri-series.
Fans would actually have to rewind the clocks and rekindle memories as to when might have the three nations competed last in an ODI series; perhaps, over a decade ago?
In what will be nothing short of a run-feast, we’ll get to see some of the world’s best willows in business with a Mithali Raj competing with Meg Lanning and Sarah Taylor and Heather Knight, arguably two of England’s finest batswomen on current form.
But with England contesting with India will rekindle an old rivalry that on the last occasion saw Heather Knight’s team thumping India at the final at Lords a few months ago, it might be a good time for India to turn the tables.
So can Mithali Raj and team do that this time around in the tri-series? We will have to wait and watch as conjecture won’t help.
Australia Women's Tour of India
01
06th March
Warm Up Match Against India A
Mumbai
02
08th March
Warm Up Match Against India A
Mumbai
03
12th March
1st ODI
Baroda
04
15th March
2nd ODI
Baroda
05
18th March
3rd ODI
Baroda
T20I Women’s Tri-Series, 2018 (India, Australia and England)
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