World champions India Ladies resume ODI duties in Alyssa Healy’s farewell pageant


The ODI collection towards Australia guarantees to be a memorable chapter for India Ladies. For the primary time, India will step onto the sphere carrying the tag of world champions – a title that brings heightened expectations and larger scrutiny. When Harmanpreet Kaur’s ladies take the sphere for the collection opener on February 24 at The Gabba in Brisbane, the concentration is going to shine brighter than ever.

Confidence is already flowing via the squad after scripting historical past by clinching their first T20I collection win in Australia in a decade. India at present maintain a 4-2 lead within the ongoing multi-format collection following their triumph within the T20Is, and they are going to be eager to hold that momentum into the 50-over format.

Australia, in the meantime, discover themselves in unfamiliar territory. The hosts suffered their first house collection defeat since 2017 – a uncommon blemish in what has in any other case been a dominant period. The Sophie Molineux period has not begun as deliberate, and the Australians might be determined to reply strongly in entrance of their house crowd.

Including additional emotion to the competition, Alyssa Healy is ready to start the ultimate leg of her Australia profession forward of her impending retirement, giving the collection an added layer of significance.

GOLDEN CHANCE FOR NEWCOMERS

Amid the familiarity of a World Cup-winning core, the Indian squad additionally carries a contact of contemporary intrigue. Two members of the touring get together – Vaishnavi Sharma and Kashvee Gautam – weren’t a part of India’s triumphant World Cup marketing campaign, and every arrives with a narrative of her personal.

For Vaishnavi, the collection might mark a big private milestone. Having already featured in T20Is and represented Mumbai Indians within the WPL, she is but to make her ODI debut for India. The upcoming matches current a chance for her to interrupt into the 50-over format and additional cement her place within the nationwide setup.

Gautam’s journey, in the meantime, has been one among resilience. After being dominated out halfway via the tri-series in Sri Lanka final month, her return provides depth and steadiness to the squad. The collection in Australia gives her an opportunity not solely to regain rhythm but additionally to reassert her place in an more and more aggressive lineup.

Uma Chetry stands at a barely totally different crossroads. She made her ODI debut in the course of the World Cup conflict towards Bangladesh however didn’t get a chance to bat, leaving her credentials within the 50-over format largely unexplored. Though she has featured in seven T20Is for India, she is but to constantly discover her finest type on the highest stage.

CAN PRATIKA STEP UP?

One of many gamers to look at within the collection might be Pratika Rawal, who’s returning to aggressive cricket after practically 4 months on the sidelines because of harm. The 25-year-old opening batter, one among India’s most prolific performers in the course of the World Cup, has been included within the ODI squad after recovering from an ankle harm.

The setback compelled her out of the knockout part of the event, and he or she was subsequently changed within the squad. Because of this, she missed out on receiving a winner’s medal regardless of her vital contributions earlier within the competitors.

The harm additionally dominated her out of the Ladies’s Premier League season with UP Warriorz, the place she had been picked within the accelerated spherical at her base worth. The prolonged layoff required cautious rehabilitation, and followers carefully tracked her restoration, with current updates confirming her return to full health.

Now, as India put together to tackle Australia in difficult circumstances, Rawal might be desirous to rediscover the rhythm that made her such a key determine in the course of the World Cup. Her expertise, composure, and confirmed skill on the worldwide stage make her an important element of India’s batting lineup as they appear to construct on their current success.

SPOTLIGHT ON ALYSSA HEALY

For Australia, the main target will firmly be on Alyssa Healy because the tour marks the remaining chapter of her worldwide profession. The upcoming collection might be her final task in ODIs, and he or she is ready to steer Australia one remaining time in white-ball cricket — a becoming farewell for one of many trendy greats of the sport.

There’ll, nevertheless, be a refined change in her position. Healy is not going to hold wickets in the course of the collection, with Beth Mooney anticipated to take over the gloves. The transfer alerts a gradual transition, at the same time as Healy stays on the forefront as captain. As soon as she steps away, Sophie Molineux will take over the management, ushering in a brand new period for Australian cricket.

Earlier than that transition is full, Healy has one final alternative to make her mark. She struck two centuries finally 12 months’s World Cup, reaffirming her popularity as a big-match performer regardless of Australia’s semi-final exit. With the group additionally aiming to bounce again from their T20I collection defeat, Healy might be decided to finish her profession on a excessive — main from the entrance and delivering one remaining defining efficiency in entrance of a house crowd.

India Ladies vs Australia Ladies Head-to-Head

General

Matches – 61, India – 12, Australia – 49

In Australia

Matches – 19, India – 4, Australia – 15

India Ladies vs Australia Ladies Squads

Australia: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham.

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry, Harleen Deol, Pratika Rawal.

When to look at India Ladies vs Australia Ladies ODI collection

Matches within the ODI collection between India Ladies and Australia Ladies will begin at 9:20 PM IST.

The place to look at India Ladies vs Australia Ladies ODI collection

Star Sports activities Community has the broadcasting rights for the ODI collection between India Ladies and Australia Ladies. Dwell Streaming of the matches might be out there on JioHotstar.

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Printed By:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Printed On:

Feb 24, 2026