India host Ireland for a three-match women’s ODI series
India Women concluded 2024 with a bang as they clean swept West Indies 3-0 in the ODI series played last month. Continuing with their home season, Women in Blue will host Ireland Women for a three-match ODI series starting January 10 in Rajkot. The two teams will come face to face in this format for the first time since 2017.
Head-to-Head
India and Ireland have played 12 ODIs against each other, and India have an unscathed record against the Irish.
Squads
India: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Deepti Sharma (vice-captain), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry (wicketkeeper), Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Minnu Mani, Priya Mishra, Tanuja Kanwar, Titas Sadhu, Saima Thakor, Sayali Satghare
Ireland: Gaby Lewis (captain), Ava Canning, Christina Coulter Reilly (wicketkeeper), Alana Dalzell, Laura Delany, Georgina Dempsey, Sarah Forbes, Arlene Kelly, Joanna Loughran (wicketkeeper), Aimee Maguire, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Una Raymond-Hoey, Freya Sargent, Rebecca Stokell
Players to watch out
Smriti Mandhana: The stand-in captain of India for this Ireland series had a fabulous 2024. She scored runs across all three formats. Particularly in ODIs, she hammered four centuries and three half-centuries in 13 outings at an average of 57.
Deepti Sharma: In the absence of Renuka Singh Thakur, the onus will be on this talented off spinner from India. She will be the leader of the bowling attack, being the senior most in the team. Besides her bowling, she is more than handy with the bat in the middle order.
Gaby Lewis: The 23-year-old captain of Ireland will play her 50th ODI as her team takes on India Women in the first ODI. The right-handed opening batter scored a half-century in her last ODI match that she played against Bangladesh last month.
Orla Prendergast: This dashing all-rounder of Ireland is a genuine match winner, who can make valuable contributions with bat and ball. She usually bats at number four in the ODIs and opens the bowling. In her 31 ODIs, she has mustered 771 runs (29 innings) and scalped 14 wickets (19 innings).
Ground Statistics
The venue will host its first women’s ODI
4 men’s ODIs have been held here and all have been won by teams batting first
The highest first innings score is 352
The average first innings score is 329
Weather
It will be sunny and pleasant in the afternoon with a temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius and humidity of 28%. Towards the fag end of the match, expect the temperatures to drop as evening sets in.
Match details
Date: January 10, 2025
Time: 11:00 AM
Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
Live streaming: Disney + Hotstar, Star Sports Network