By, Gitika Sharma
India hopes to win a historic first series against the most historic city in history. For the first time ever, the Women in Blue are very close to defeating Australia in a bilateral series. They would have accomplished one of their greatest feats if they had carried over their form from the nearby Chandigarh match, where they dealt the Australians their worst run-damaging loss, to the last ODI on Saturday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Furthermore, the timing couldn’t have been more ideal, as the World Cup officially begins on September 30.
Prior to being outplayed by the hosts on Wednesday, the Australians had won 13 straight ODIs. And there is no doubt in saying that they would want to prove their team’s caliber at every platform that they are subjected to. They would especially want Smriti Mandhana to return to the dressing room as soon as possible. In the past two games, the graceful left-hander has been a smiling killer of the Australian bowlers. She was run out after a mix-up with her opening partner Pratika Rawal in the first match, having scored 58 from 63 balls.
India would like Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain, to get back to her best even though the vice captain is at her peak. All-rounder Deepti Sharma was the only player to achieve 40 in the most recent game, aside from Smriti. However, India’s bowling clicked in that match. With the new ball, Australia was put on defence by veteran seamer Renuka, who was recovering from an injury, and her young partner, Kranti Goud, who had the support of the spinners.
Since 1984 the undefeated Australian team would like to maintain their status of being the continuously victorious squad. Their skipper, Healy, who has only made 27 and nine appearances in the series thus far, will be expected to take the lead once more. Furthermore, their bowlers would want to be more constrictive.