India Women relying on spin unit to continue winning momentum from Test against England

After registering a Test victory against England Women, India are set to take on Australia from Thursday in a red-ball game. The Indian side will back their spin unit led by Deepti Sharma to register a triumph against the opposition.

Mumbai: After dismantling England, India Women will be eager to outplay mighty Aussies in the one-off Test scheduled to start from Thursday and ensure a maiden win in the traditional format against their rivals.

India have never beaten Australia in the 10 Test fixtures they have played against each other during a span of 46 years and the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will have their best shot on a pitch that is expected to favour the spinners. The Indian bowlers, especially offie Deepti Sharma, were lethal against England and ensured a mammoth 347-run win at the DY Patil Stadium last week, biggest in terms of runs in women's Test history. The Indian side will like replicate the dominance from the previous fixture when they will be up against a tough challenge for Australia.

In the bowling unit, Renuka Singh Thakur have the ability to wreak havoc with the new ball while her partner in the pace department Pooja Vastrakar is also chipping in with a few wickets. The trio of Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia shown brilliant form against English team.

However, India will miss services of left-handed Shubha Satheesh, who suffered a dislocation and hairline fracture after a scintillating debut fifty against England. Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur stated ahead of the match that the team looks forward to carry the winning momentum from game against England. She also explained that it gets difficult to manage workload when a side is playing consecutive red-ball games.

"The way we played the first Test (of the season), we want to carry the same energy into this one. It is very exciting, knowing Australia is such a good team and everyone wants to beat them," Kaur told reporters after India's training session on Wednesday.

"When you are playing back-to-back Tests, it is important to recover and feel fresh. When you bat and bowl for three days the likes of Deepti (Sharma), Pooja (Vastrakar) who didn't get enough rest we try to take care of their loads. They need to feel ready for the game and we made them train accordingly. The ones who had lesser loads we pushed them hard in the nets to feel more confident."

Australia have indeed ventured in to the unknown and the task looks uphill for the newly-appointed skipper Alyssa Healy and her side. Healy has stepped in the post of Australian captaincy overtaking the responsibility from Meg Lanning and playing a Test against India in their backyard will be a massive test for the visitors.

Notably, Australian team management has problem of plenty as they have all-rounders in their side which includes the experienced Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath. Australia will look to lean on their white-ball experience in India which also includes stints in the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) earlier this year for some of them. But playing red-ball cricket on slow turners can be too hot a job to handle for any visiting side.

Squads

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar

Australia: Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle, Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alyssa Healy (C & WK), Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney (wk), Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham. (With PTI inputs).

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