Can IND-W carry the confidence of their Test win against AUS-W into the ODI series?
India Women would be riding high on confidence after their scintillating eight-wicket win over Australia Women in the one-off Test that was played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from December 21 to 24. India created history by beating Australia for the first time in Test cricket. As the two teams gear up for the three-match ODI series to be played at the same venue, can India continue with their good form and put up a strong fight against Australia, a team that has never lost an ODI series to India?
The first ODI between India Women and Australia Women will be played on December 28 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Squads
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Harleen Deol
Australia: Alyssa Healy (captain and wicket-keeper), Tahlia McGrath (vice captain), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney (wicket-keeper), Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham
Head-to-Head
India and Australia have played 50 ODIs against each other, of which Australia have dominated with 40 wins, whereas India have managed to win just the 10. In India, the record is in Australia’s favour as they have won 17 out of the 21 ODIs. The recent statistics also hint Australia’s strong hold over India as they have won four of the five matches.
| India | Australia | |
| ICC ODI Rankings | 4 | 1 |
| Head-to-Head in ODIs | 10 | 40 |
| In India | 4 | 17 |
| Last 5 ODIs | 1 | 4 |
Players to watch out for
Harmanpreet Kaur: The captain of India is the top run scorer and the senior-most player in the squad. The right-handed middle-order batter has scored 3393 runs in 127 ODIs at an average of 38. She has 18 half-centuries and five centuries, including the best of 171 not out which came against Australia during the semi-final of the 2017 World Cup. She loves batting against Australia as she averages 51 in 14 innings, which is the highest against any opposition. Besides her batting, she can roll her arm over to bowl off spin. She has 31 wickets to her name.
Deepti Sharma: India’s star all-rounder ranks sixth in the world in the list of all-rounders in women’s ODIs. Having been around for almost a decade, she has featured in 83 ODIs. The left-handed middle-order batter has scored 1912 runs, including one century and a dozen half-centuries, and averages 35. With the ball, the right-arm off-spinner has scalped 93 wickets, including two four-fers and a fifer. She can bowl in any phase of the innings.
Tahlia McGrath: The vice-captain of Australia was the standout performer for her team in the one-off Test that was played against India between December 21 and 24. The right-handed batter scored two half-centuries in as many innings to become the first visiting batter to achieve the feat in women’s Tests in India. Looking at her ODI records, she has 412 runs, including a couple of half-centuries in 19 innings. She also contributes with ball, bowling right-arm medium pace and has snapped 22 wickets in 25 innings, including the best of 3/4.
Beth Mooney: Australia’s opening batter is world number 2 ODI batter in women’s cricket. The left-handed batter has muscled 2137 runs, including three centuries and 14 half-centuries in 58 innings. She has a healthy average of 53 and a strike rate of 86. Her batting average goes up to 86 when she plays against India, courtesy of her 343 runs in seven innings, including a century and two half-centuries.
Pitch
The venue has hosted six women’s ODIs with the last one being played in February 2019. The teams batting first and second have won equal number of matches. The highest total scored here is 300 and the lowest is 79. Incidentally these highest and lowest totals were recorded by Australia and India respectively in an ODI played on March 14, 2012. Looking at more recent data, these two teams played a Test match here. The conditions were favourable for spinners given the occasional low and uneven bounce. However, if the batters get themselves in and spend time at the crease, scoring runs could get easy.
Weather
The weather is expected to be sunny. The maximum temperature attained during the day will be 35 degrees Celsius. There will be 45% cloud cover and no chance of rain. The wind will blow from the north-east.
Milestone Alert
Deepti Sharma needs 88 runs to complete 2000 ODI runs
Match details
Date: December 28, 2023
Time: 1.30 PM
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Live streaming: Jio Cinema