The Indian Women team hasn’t had the best yet in the white-ball series as they find themselves at a crucial juncture to come out with better performances. India Women are now gearing up to face the formidable Australia Women in the 1st T20I match on Friday at Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai. The series comes on the heels of a disappointing ODI series which India Women lost by 0-3. It was a massive defeat for the team to cope with after being pinned in all three games. The defeats in the ODI series put a lot of pressure on the Indian team to make their comeback in the shortest format of the game.

Going into this match, India Women would want their experienced players, including captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, to lead from the front. Jemimah Rodrigues, who showed some resistance in the ODIs with her bat, will be crucial for the team. The bowling attack, led by Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Singh and Shreyanka Patil will aim to find their rhythm to produce brilliant spells.

Australia Women, on the other hand, will enter the T20I series with the brimmed confidence after their commanding ODI series performance. Players like, Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry will be key contributors in teams’ scoring and bowling. The Australian bowling attack, known for its pace and accuracy, will hope to hand a significant challenge for the Indian batters. India’s massive win in the One-Off Test against Australia was resounding, but Australia’s comeback in the ODI series has given Indian team a huge headache. 

Pitch Report

The pitch at DY Patil Sports Academy is incredibly helpful for both batters and bowlers, however, initially pitch could tend to favour bowlers, therefore, the captain winning the toss might decide to bowl first. 

IND-W Probable XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Titas Sadhu, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh

AUS-W Probable XI: Alyssa Healy (c), Beth Mooney (wk), Grace Harris, Annabel Sutherland, Elysse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Wareham, Megan Schutt, Alana King