India are tapping into an honorary South Australian’s know-how as they seek an edge ahead of Saturday’s T20I decider at Adelaide Oval.
India’s women have not played at the iconic ground since they upset Australia in January 2016, and only two members of that XI remain – captain Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana.
That five-wicket 2016 win in Adelaide sparked a 2-1 scoreline in India’s favour, in what remains their only women’s bilateral series win against Australia.
More recently, the Indian players’ only exposure to the ground has come via the Weber WBBL, where Mandhana called Adelaide home during WBBL|10.
With a two-day turnaround between the final two T20Is and no time to train at Adelaide Oval, India coach Amol Muzumdar said her intel could be crucial, particularly for those who haven’t played Big Bash.
“(Smriti) was talking about her stint at Adelaide … she’s been a senior pro in that team, and I think her experience playing at Adelaide will come in handy, really handy for the youngsters,” Muzumdar said.
“We’ll just get together after the travel … we’ve come here with certain things in our mind.
“A quick turnaround is modern-day cricket, I think you’ve got to adjust to those things and (we’re) just hoping that it’ll turn out really well (on Saturday).
“If you look at both the teams, there is a lot of great quality … hopefully we’ll have a good game, and hoping for some good entertaining cricket at Adelaide Oval.”
While the only silverware on offer this tour is the overall India-Australia multi-format trophy, the team that takes out the T20I leg will go into the one-dayers with a handy 4-2 advantage in the points-based series – and an edge ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup in England, where the fierce rivals are placed in the same group.
Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry, who will make her 350th international appearance on Saturday, said the T20I leg was set up for a blockbuster finale after the hosts got on the board with an inspired 19-run win in Canberra.
“It was a really nice performance from the group,” Perry said.
“The way we started with the bat, a really great partnership at the top, and then to defend the total in the end, I thought our bowlers were absolutely exceptional.
“In the context of how the match panned out, we played really well.
“I think we probably thought after the start we got with the bat that we were maybe a little bit short, but then the way that the bowlers bowled, and some of the execution of plans last night was absolutely brilliant.
“So a really good game for us and makes the last match of the T20s component of this series really exciting.”
Australia fielded an unchanged XI in the second T20I but have locals Megan Schutt and Tahlia McGrath up their sleeve for a potential appearance on their home turf, while Grace Harris is also fresh on the bench.
NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series
The multi-format series is tied 2-2
Australia T20I squad: 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
India T20I squad: 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
February 15: India won by 21 runs (DLS)
February 19: Australia won by 19 runs
February 21: Third T20, Adelaide Oval, 7:15pm AEDT
Australia ODI squad: 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 ODI squad: 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
February 24: First ODI, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 2:50pm AEDT
February 27: Second ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50pm AEDT
March 1: Third ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50pm AEDT
Australia Test squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur, Uma Chetry, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sayali Satghare
March 6-9: Test match, WACA Ground, 4:20pm AEDT (D/N)
