Heavyweights seek perfection in high-stakes battle

by Purnima Malhotra • Last updated on

India and Australia just faced each other before the World Cup. © Getty

Australia's last defeat in ODI World Cup history was what changed the discourse around women's sport in India. On a rainy day in Derby, when Harmanpreet Kaur dismantled the Australian attack one audacious stroke at a time, it not only reshaped perceptions of women's cricket back home, but also sparked a newfound conviction within the team that they could stand toe-to-toe with the best in the world. From dark horses who narrowly missed out on silverware in 2017 to genuine title contenders in the 2025 World Cup on home soil - India have made rapid strides, with key clashes against Australia often serving as pivotal turning points in their journey since. The most recent of which was the run-filled game in Delhi just last month, showcasing how far power-hitting in women's game has evolved.

While that bilateral fixture offered an appetising preview of what's to come from the two teams, their World Cup performances so far haven't quite justified their billing as tournament heavyweights. India and Australia have shared few similarities in their campaigns - both teams have had their batting depth tested by unfancied sides early in the competition, neither have had their perfect game yet, and both have dropped points they must have been banking on. While for Australia it was a washout that forced them to split points with Sri Lanka in Colombo, India have only themselves to blame for the two they gifted to South Africa in Vizag.

And now, India and Australia find themselves on the collision course in their pursuit for that perfect game that will, hopefully, set their rhythm right.

At the halfway stage in their campaign, the cracks are beginning to show for the hosts. India's faltering batting order had problems aplenty - right from strike-rate concerns to underperforming stars to an unlikely matchup causing headaches - on top of which South Africa exposed an unaddressed flaw. India's lack of a sixth proper bowling option is a tactical gap in the strategy that will only widen unless they make some tough calls to get their combination and balance right for pitches that have no demons and for opponents that won't be as forgiving as Sri Lanka and Pakistan were in the past.

"We regroup, we study the match, we plan how to improve, take the positives, and look forward to the next game. We don't dwell on the loss; instead, we focus on how to tackle the next challenge better," an optimistic Sneh Rana said of recovering from a stinging defeat just ahead of a marquee game like Australia's. If India have indeed thought plans over, they sure aren't revealing them yet.

Australia too have taken the early challenges in their stride. "We're allowed to be put under pressure at times, in particular in World Cups. You're going to be put under the pump in unfamiliar conditions, against unfamiliar sides at times. That's the nature of the game," Alyssa Healy said. "I really back our depth in our side and also in our squad that the 11 that we put out on the park are going to be able to get the job done for us. And we're fortunate that it's been a different person every time that stuck their hand up and said, 'yep, I've got this, I can get us to a total or I can take the wickets to restrict the team'."

If it was Ash Gardner who helped Australia emerge from an unlikely collapse against New Zealand to post a formidable 300+ total, Beth Mooney, alongside Alana King, dug them out of a deeper hole against Pakistan. There's quiet certainty in Healy's words when she reflects back on those two recoveries - the kind of confidence that feels more assured, more ingrained. And perhaps that's where the paths of these two elite teams start to diverge.

When: Sunday, October 12 at 3 PM IST

Where: ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam

What to expect: The rain forecast has cleared up and the sold-out game is now scheduled to be interruption-free. The conditions in Vizag remain good to bat in, although chasing will continue to be the captain's choice after winning the toss with the expected dew.

Head-to-head: Australia lead 48-11 in their 51-game rivalry with India, including 9 of the 10 they have played between the last time they met in a World Cup to the run-fest in Delhi last month. Australia are also on a 11-match winning streak in ODI World Cups, having gone through the last edition unbeaten.

Team News

India: If their two, seemingly optional, sessions since the defeat to South Africa are any indication, changes are in order with at least Renuka Thakur and Radha Yadav likely to return to the XI. Now whether that's a straight swap between the young in the XI (Kranti Gaud and Sree Charani) and the experienced on the bench, or comes at the cost of a pure batter, remains to be seen. The latter would be uncharacteristic of India though, to further deplete an already underperforming batting department.

Probable XI: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani/Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur

Australia: The reigning champions have been carefully managing the workloads of Sophie Molineux who has just made a comeback post knee surgery. After playing in their tournament opener, the left-arm spinner was rested against Sri Lanka in Colombo but should be back - 10 days after having last played - given the obvious matchup advantage she presents against right-heavy India who have lost the maximum number of wickets to bowlers of her ilk in this World Cup.

Probable XI: Alyssa Healy (C & wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Kim Garth, Alana King, Megan Schutt

Did you know?

- Smriti Mandhana is 18 runs away from becoming the first player to score 1000 ODI runs in a calendar year. She currently has 982 runs at an average of 57.8 in 17 innings so far in 2025

- Harmanpreet Kaur is 75 away from 1000 runs in ODI World Cups

- Sneh Rana is only three wickets away from becoming just the second Indian to register 30 (or more) wickets in a calendar year

- Meghan Schutt is four wickets away from becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in World Cups, after Jhulan Goswami (43)

What they said:

"Australia are definitely one of the strongest competitors but on the other hand, we have a very positive mindset. Even in the past, we've played against them and also beaten them. We'll definitely try to give our best." - Sneh Rana, India allrounder, on the team's mindset ahead of the big-ticket clash

"We've spoken a lot about how it just drove us to rethink our standards and the way we wanted to approach our cricket... For our team, it just made us rethink what we were doing and how we could do it better. And I think we've been really successful since that point. But, we keep reassessing it at different moments in time. Teams are continually not just catching up but matching us at every opportunity they can. So, it's more about a discussion for us on how we keep raising the bar and be better ourselves." - Alyssa Healy, Australia captain, on how the semi-final defeat to India in 2017 spurred them on

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