Outplayed in the first two ODIs, India will look to restore some pride when they take on a dominant Australia in the third and final women’s ODI on Sunday.

The hosts have struggled to put up competitive totals, allowing Australia to chase with comfort and maintain their impressive bilateral record against India in the format.

Batting concerns haunt India

In the series opener, India lost three wickets inside the powerplay and never recovered, eventually being bowled out for 214. Although they responded with a promising 78-run opening stand in the second ODI, the middle and lower order faltered once again.

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A dramatic collapse, losing five wickets for 52 runs between the 17th and 31st overs, derailed the innings as India finished with a below-par 251 for 9, which Australia chased down without major trouble.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur acknowledged the shortcomings after the second defeat. “In the last two games we didn’t bat well, and that really cost us. It’s about batting well and batting deep. Hopefully in the next game we’ll do that,” she said.

Young opener Pratika Rawal bounced back from a duck to score a half-century, while vice-captain Smriti Mandhana contributed 31 and 58 in the two matches. Harmanpreet herself struck two fifties.

However, the lack of meaningful contributions from experienced batters like Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma has hurt India’s cause.

India’s bowling unit has lacked penetration. Deepti has picked up three wickets in the series, while Sree Charani impressed in the first ODI but proved expensive in the second.

The pace duo of Kashvee Gautam and Kranti Gaud will need to provide early breakthroughs to prevent Australia from dictating terms in the powerplay.

Fielding has also been a concern, with missed chances proving costly.

Australia, on the other hand, have been clinical. Georgia Voll’s commanding century and Phoebe Litchfield’s fluent strokeplay headlined a dominant chase in the second ODI. In the first match, Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy and Annabel Sutherland had starred with the bat.

The bowling attack, led by Megan Schutt and Ashleigh Gardner, has been equally effective, with support from Alana King and Sutherland.

While India claimed the preceding T20I series 2-1, Australia’s back-to-back ODI wins have given them a 6-4 lead in the ongoing multi-format series.

India will aim to bounce back in the final ODI and the subsequent one-off Test in Perth to avoid ending the tour on a disappointing note.

Match starts at 9.20 am IST.