The Indian Women’s team is in Australia and after a less than satisfactory performance in England in the three-match ODI series in June-July early this year, they would be hoping for certain changes. Although the team lost the warm-up game against the Aussies only a few days ago with skipper Mithali Raj and opening sensations Smiriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma failing, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia and Deepti Sharma gave an account of themselves with the bat.
Poonam Yadav was as always brilliant with the ball, even as other spinners in Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Ekta Bisht were taken to the cleaners.
The Australian team on the other hand looked extremely settled, both with the bat and ball.
Although they were playing cricket after quite a long time, it didn’t really reflect in their performances with batters Rachael Hynes and Beth Monney getting fifties alongside skipper Meg Lanning. Bowling wise too, they were right on the money with Ellyse Perry and 19-year-old uncapped Stela Cambleel wrestling havoc on the Indian batting lineup.
Apart from inconsistent form, another major roadblock for Team India is the absence of vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur who is out with an injury. However, pacer Shikha Pandey, who too didn’t appear in the Warm-up game, is fit for selection for the first match.
Match Number- 01st ODI
Date and Time: September 21, 2021, 05:35 am IST, 10:05 am Local, 12:05 am GMT
Venue: Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay
Broadcast and Live Stream in India: Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV
As far as the first images from the centre are concerned, the pitch at Mackay is going to be fast and bouncy and with a strip of light grass left on it, it would surely be a hard time for the team batting first.
According to the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology, the weather at Mackay will remain mostly Sunny on Tuesday, September 21. Some Light winds blowing from west to northwesterly at around 15 to 20 km/h will accompany the sun in the morning. In the afternoon, the air stream will shift southerly 15 to 25 km/h, thereby assisting the bowlers with the swing.
A skipper winning the toss should undoubtedly choose to bowl first.
Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy (wk), Meg Lanning (c), Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Redmayne, Darcie Brown, Stella Campbell
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Mithali Raj (c), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana/ Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Poonam Yadav
Wicketkeepers Alyssa Healy
Batters Rachael Haynes, Meg Lanning, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia
All-rounders Deepti Sharma, Ellyse Perry
Bowlers Jhulan Goswami, Poonam Yadav, Stella Campbell
Vice-Captain Deepti Sharma
Captain Ellyse Perry
Chasing Record If Australia Women win this game, they would become the first team male or female to win straight 25ODIs on the trot.