Australian women team skipper Meg Lanning has won the toss and has chosen to field in the first T20I of the Paytm Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tri-series being played at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, on Thursday.
After winning the toss, Meg Lanning said, “We’re going to have a bowl. Looks a good surface. Change in format but the basics remain the same. We’ve got a few changes, Sophie is making her debut while there are some familiar names coming in as well.”
“We were looking to bowl as well but now that we are batting, need to put a good score on the board. We didn’t play good cricket over the last week but we are looking confident. Jhulan is back and the bowling is strengthened with her. Three seamers and two spinners for us to go with six batsmen. Yeah, I’ll be batting at the top,” said Women-in-Blue’s T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
While Indian women cricket team led by Harmanpreet Kaur will aim to start the tri-nation T20 series on a winning note, the Aussie team will aim to continue their momentum.
“The team is now preparing for the T20 World Cup this year and it is important to have our combinations right before it. And for that if we need to have some changes in the squad, irrespective of the result goes our way or not, it is important as we see the bigger picture preparing for the World Cup,” Mithali Raj told reporters.
Raj said, “We need to pick players and give them specific roles and they need to work on it. That’s what Australia has been doing since past couple of years, likewise we need to the same. We do have power, we have Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, and now you see how Pooja Vastrakar is capable. Yes, we need to give her more opportunities to groom her into an all-rounder.”
Meanwhile, star Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami has returned in the Indian squad.
Teams:
Australia Women (Playing XI): Meg Lanning(c), Alyssa Healy(w), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Elyse Villani, Rachael Haynes, Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Molineux, Delissa Kimmince, Jess Jonassen, Megan Schutt
India Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Veda Krishnamurthy, Anuja Patil, Taniya Bhatia(w), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Rumeli Dhar, Poonam Yadav