India eyes historic maiden ODI series win over Australia

History beckons India in the most historic city.

The Women in Blue are in striking distance of beating Australia in a bilateral series for the first time ever.

If they could bring their form from the neighbouring Chandigarh, where they inflicted their heaviest defeat in terms of runs on the Aussies, to the final ODI at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday, they would have pulled off one of their greatest achievements.

And with the World Cup getting underway on September 30, the timing could hardly have been better. But, the Indians know that it will never be easy against Alyssa Healy’s women.

The Australians had won their last 13 ODIs in a row before they were outplayed by the hosts on Wednesday. They would surely be determined to show the world why they have been such a formidable team for so long.

They would particularly be keen to send Smriti Mandhana back to the dressing room as quickly as possible.

The elegant left-hander has been a smiling assassin of the Aussie bowlers in the last two games. In the first match, she had made 58 off 63 balls before she was run out following a mix-up with her opening partner Pratika Rawal.

In the second, she went on to make a century – her 12th in ODIs – the 117 off 91 balls would prove just too much even for Australia’s strong batting line-up.

The vice-captain may be at her best, but India would want the captain Harmanpreet Kaur, too, to run into form. In the last match, apart from Smriti, only all-rounder Deepti Sharma had managed to reach 40.

But in that game, India’s bowling clicked. The experienced seamer Renuka, who was returning from an injury, and her young partner Kranti Goud, forced Australia to the back foot with the new ball and they were well backed up by the spinners. The Australians would want to ensure their unbeaten record in the bilateral series against India, dating back to 1984, is maintained.

They will be looking to their captain Healy, who could just make 27 and nine in the series so far, to lead from the front once again. And their bowlers would be keen to be more restrictive.

The teams (from): India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Capt.), Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Tejal Hasabnis, Richa Ghosh (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh, N. Shree Charani, Sneh Rana and Uma Chetry (wk).

Australia: Alyssa Healy (Capt.), Tahlia McGrath, Nicole Faltum (wk), Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Charli Knott, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney (wk), Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll and Georgia Wareham.

Match starts at 1.30 p.m.