India take on Australia in the 1st Women’s ODI in Brisbane after a historic T20I series win. Alyssa Healy returns for her farewell ODI series, while Smriti Mandhana leads India’s charge.
Having secured a stunning T20I series triumph, reigning world champions India will have the psychological edge when they take on Australia in the first women's ODI of a three-match series in Brisbane on Tuesday.
India had beaten Australia in the World Cup semi-final last year in Navi Mumbai and the hosts would be looking to avenge that stunning defeat.
Key Points
- India had beaten Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-final in Navi Mumbai last year, adding extra edge to the contest.
- Alyssa Healy returns to captain Australia and will play her final ODI series before retiring after the one-off Test in Perth.
- Smriti Mandhana remains India’s batting pillar after her match-winning 82 in the third T20I; she has emphasised consistency and dominance.
What makes the series even more significant is the fact that one of Australia's greatest players, Alyssa Healy, will be making her swansong ODI appearance in this rubber. She will be ending her illustrious career after the one-off Test against India starting on March 6 in Perth.
Healy will return to lead Australia after missing the three-match T20I series which India clinched 2-1 after winning the decider by 17 runs in Adelaide on Saturday. It was Australia's first bilateral series defeat since 2017.
Star leg-spinner Alana King is also coming to the ODI and Test sides after being overlooked for the T20 series.
For India, Kashvee Gautam, Harleen Deol and Pratika Rawal will come in to replace of Arundhati Reddy, Bharti Fulmali, and Shreyanka Patil.
Having recuperated from an ankle injury, batter Rawal was added late to the ODI squad.
'We just want to be consistent'
Star opener Smriti Mandhana is expected continue to be India's batting mainstay after her match-winning 82 in the third T20I.
"Beating Australia in Australia is something really special. We will move on to the ODI series. We are on the verge of a transition where we want to dominate world cricket.
"And whoever we beat, wherever we beat, that doesn't matter. We just want to be consistent in beating them and being at the top," Mandhana had said.
Jemimah Rodrigues, who made a stunning 127 in India's five-wicket win over Australia in the ODI World Cup, will be another batter to watch out for. She contributed 59 and shared a 121-run partnership with Mandhana in the third T20I win.
India will also be banking on captain Harmanpreet Kaur to lend muscle to batting. She did not get a chance to bat in the first T20I, made 36 in the second and 2 not out in the third.
Bowlers Renuka Thakur and Sree Charani will go into the ODI series after being among the wickets in the T20I matches while veteran Deepti Sharma would look to come good after a mediocre show in the shortest format.
Aus will look to Perry for inspiration
There is no dearth of match-winners in the star-studded Australian side which had dominated white-ball cricket for long. They would seek inspiration from the likes of Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, besides Healy and King, to make amends of the T20I series loss.
After the opening game in Brisbane, the other two ODIs of the series will be held in Hobart on February 27 and March 1.
The trophy for the multi-format series will be decided on points, with two points for each T20 and 50-over victory and four for a Test triumph.
India are currently leading 4-2 after the 2-1 T20I series win.
The Squads:
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Kashvee Gautam, Harleen Deol, Pratika Rawal.
Australia: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham.
Match starts at 9.20am IST.
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