India Women v Australia Women 2021: 3 reasons why India can beat Australia
One of the biggest rivalries in women's cricket resumes on Tuesday, as India women take on Australia women in a multi-format series. With the amount of quality both sides possess, we could be in for a scintillating series over the next few weeks.
While the Aussies go into this series on the back of a record-breaking run, India women will feel that this series is a good chance for them to win. And while the home side appear to be favorites going into the first game, India have all the tools to topple them.
Here we take a look at three reasons why India Women can beat Australia Women in the multi-format series between the two sides.
#3 Australia are missing several key players
Australia go into this series with a number of big names missing from their squad. Jess Jonassen and Megan Schutt have been mainstays in the Australian team for many years now. But they will both be absent for the series against India Women. Talented young quick Tayla Vlaeminck will also miss the ODIs and Tests, while Nicola Carey is dealing with an injury.
Their absence could prove to be a big blow for Australia, who will now have to rely on a fairly inexperienced bowling unit to go up against India's world-class batting line-up.
If India Women can manage to exploit this weakness and get big runs on the board in the first few games, it will put a lot of pressure on the young Australian bowlers going into the Test and T20Is. That could play things into India's hands, with every game set to be crucial in this multi-format series.
#2 India Women will not be rusty
Australia Women will have to dust off the cobwebs a bit as they haven't played competitive cricket as a team in quite a while. India Women, on the other hand, are coming off their tour of the United Kingdom.
They not only played England in all three formats of the game, but also took part in the inaugural Hundred tournament soon after that. So the India Women players will be fresh and raring to go ahead of this series.
That freshness could give them the edge against the inexperienced Aussies, who will no doubt be a bit rusty going into the game. The only Australian player at the Hundred was Georgia Redmayne, while the others pulled out of the tournament.
Australia's only fixtures in the last 12 months have come against New Zealand, with the last of those games coming all the way back in April.
Again, it will be up to India Women to take advantage of this in the early games. A good start would certainly help set the tone as they look to upset the odds down under.
#1 India Women's crop of exciting young talents
There is no dearth of talent in the India Women's team at the moment, and with a number of exciting players coming through it will be interesting to see how they fare on this tour to Australia.
The likes of Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Pooja Vastrakar and Richa Ghosh could all have big roles to play in the India Women's team for years to come. They all have the ability to make an impact and play fearlessly in Australia if given the opportunity to do so.
Rodrigues and Verma have already shown their match-winning abilities with their impressive batting displays. And if they manage to continue their form, India will be in a great position to get some wins on the board early on.
The exciting youngsters will be backed well by the experienced heads in the India Women squad. This well rounded Indian team will certainly push Australia all the way in the upcoming series between the two teams.