Table of Contents

NEW DELHI: The Indian women’s team will kick off a crucial phase of their preparations for the upcoming 20-over World Cup when they take on Australia in the opening T20 International on Sunday.

India are on a multi-format tour of Australia that includes three T20Is and three ODIs, along with a one-off day-night Test in Perth from March 6.

Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian side will be playing its first away assignment since lifting the 50-over World Cup and will travel across six different cities in Australia during the tour.

The first T20I will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground before the action moves to Manuka Oval in Canberra and then to the Adelaide Oval for the second and third matches respectively.

This will be India’s first T20 series of the year. They head into the contest ranked No. 3 in the ICC women’s T20I team rankings, while hosts Australia sit comfortably at the top.

Momentum After Historic ODI Triumph

India will aim to carry forward the confidence from their maiden ICC title triumph in the 50-over World Cup, and skipper Harmanpreet is well aware of how significant this series is.

"We know they (Australia) are a very strong team, they have been playing really good cricket from such a long time and one thing is very clear whenever you go with great mindset and positive approach you can give your best. So our goal would be to bring out our best and play best cricket," the India skipper said on the eve of the match.

"We are really working hard to achieve all our targets, so ODI World Cup was one of them.

"Before T20 World Cup, every series is important for us. This series is very important for both the teams," she added.

Fresh Faces and Firepower Boost

India have retained most of the players from their 50-over World Cup-winning squad, including Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma. They have also added fresh faces such as Vaishnavi Sharma and Sree Charani following impressive performances in the Women’s Premier League, while Shreyanka Patil and Bharti Fulmali have been recalled.

India endured disappointing campaigns in the previous two editions of the T20 World Cup, largely due to a lack of firepower in the death overs, but Fulmali and Ghosh are expected to provide the much-needed boost in that department.

"WPL has really played a big role to improve women's cricket and good to see that everybody is in good touch. The conditions are totally different from back home but these conditions always suit us," Harmanpreet said.

Pink-Ball Test Adds Extra Excitement

The skipper believes the ODI World Cup triumph will serve as a confidence booster heading into this tour.

"That was a different format and T20 is a different format. But being world champions always give lots of confidence, every time when you step to the ground you have to start from ball one. It's a different ball game and we are really looking forward to that.

"T20 is something we enjoy playing as a team. Playing against Australia is always fun and we are really looking forward."

Harmanpreet is equally excited about the lone pink-ball Test against Australia in Perth starting March 6.

"I played lot of cricket here and always enjoy playing in Australia and it has one of the best cricketing culture we have even seen. Not only me all my teammates love playing in Australia," she said.

"Multi-format is always exciting. Playing T20s and ODIs is always great but Test is something we always want to play and pink ball Test is going to be really exciting."

Australia Eye Revenge, Healy’s Farewell

Australia, meanwhile, will be eager to settle scores after being knocked out by India in the semifinals of last year’s ODI World Cup.

The series also carries emotional value for one of Australia’s finest cricketers, Alyssa Healy, who will retire from international cricket after this assignment.

The experienced wicketkeeper-batter announced her retirement last month and will represent Australia for the final time in the three ODIs and the one-off Test against India.

Sophie Molineux, the newly-appointed multi-format captain, will lead Australia for the first time in the T20Is against India.

A key absentee from the Australian squad is leg-spinner Alana King, who has been left out.

Teams:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil.

Australia: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham.

Match starts at 1:45pm