Match: Australia women vs India women, 3rd T20I (AUS-W vs IND-W)
Date: October 10, Sunday
Venue: Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
After losing the three-match ODI series 1-2, India women drew the one-off Test that followed, before the first of the three-match T20I series was washed out. India were on 131-4 in 15.2 overs before the match was called off due to rain. Jemimah Rodrigues was unbeaten on 49 off 36, while Ashleigh Gardner picked up two wickets.
In the second T20I, Australia women won by four wickets after restricting the visitors to 118-9 in the first innings and chasing 119 in 19.1 overs. The only significant contributions came from Harmanpreet Kaur (28) and Pooja Vastrakar (37). India’s top three batters Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues collectively scored only 11 runs as Tayla Vlaeminck and Sophie Molineux picked up two wickets each. In the second innings, Beth Mooney’s 34 and Tahlia McGrath’s 42 powered Australia to a four-wicket win.
Having won none of the three series on this tour, India will be looking for a draw in the T20I series by winning the third and last game set to be played on October 10 at Metricon Stadium.
Weather update and pitch report for AUS-W vs IND-W, 3rd T20I
Going by how the first two T20Is panned out, the pitch at the Metricon Stadium has something for both the batters as well as bowlers. The fast bowlers enjoy more assistance from this surface than the spinners. Chasing the target is likely to be the toss winning captain’s call.
As for the weather update, it is likely to be sunny all through the day. The temperature will be in the range of 18 to 21 degree Celsius.
Australia women team news and predicted XI
Team news: Having won the last game, Australia are likely to field the same playing XI for this game. Tahlia McGrath was named the Player of the Match in the second T20I for her match-winning 42 off 33 balls.
Predicted XI: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (C), Ash Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Hannah Darlington, Tayla Vlaeminck.
India women team news and predicted XI
Team news: India will be disappointed with the performance of Mandhana, Verma and Rodrigues, all three of whom scored in single digits in the second T20I. If India are to draw this series, each player will have to play their role against an experienced Australian side.
Predicted XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh Thakur
Head to head record:
Australia women and India women have played 22 T20I games between them. Australia women have been dominant with 15 wins while India women have won just six. Of the 11 matches played in Australia, the hosts have won six and India four.
Five players to watch out for
Here we list five players you must pick in your MPL fantasy XI for AUS-W vs IND-W, 3rd T20I
Jemimah Rodrigues – Batter, India women
Although Jemimah Rodrigues was dismissed for only seven runs in the second T20I, she put up a stellar show in the first T20I and missed a fine fifty by just one run after the match was called off due to rain. The 21-year-old right-hand batter scored 49 runs off 36 balls, during which she found the boundary seven times. During the course of her knock, Rodrigues, 21 years and 32 days, also became the youngest female player to reach 1000 runs in T20Is. She went past West Indies skipper Stafanie Taylor who was the youngest at 21 years and 111 days old when she got to 1000 T20I runs. Rodrigues also played a few very good knocks in the inaugural edition of the Hundred a couple of months ago. Notably, this T20I will be the 50th of Rodrigues’ career.
Smriti Mandhana – Batter, India women
Although Smriti Mandhana has not been able to get going in the two T20Is so far – She scored 17 off 10 balls in the first one and 1 off five balls in the second. But given the experience she brings to the table, Mandhana still remains an important pick in your MPL XI team. She is coming into the series after scoring a top-notch century in the one-off Test, before which she scored a half-century in the ODI series. In all, the opening batter has played 83 T20Is, scoring 1919 runs at an average of 25.58 and strike rate of 121.30.
Tahlia McGrath – Batter, Australia women
The 25-year-old all-rounder scored a match-winning 42 off 33 balls in the second T20I at a strike rate of 127.27. Tahlia has been in fine form this year, piling up crucial runs in the ODI series vs India and before that in the National Women’s Cricket League held in February. While this is her first T20I series, she has played eight ODIs and two Tests. Across all formats she has 296 runs and eight wickets.
Ellyse Perry – All-rounder, Australia women
While Ellyse Perry scored only two runs in the second T20I, she is one of the most experienced players in the squad having played more than 120 T20Is for Australia. She was also impressive in the one-off Test, scoring an unbeaten 68 and picking up two wickets. In all, Perry has 1245 runs and 115 wickets in her 125-match T20I career.
Meg Lanning – Batter, Australia women
Apart from two back to back fifties in the ODI series, Meg Lanning has not performed as per her standards in this series. She scored only 15 runs in the second T20I and will be looking to make amends for it in the final game and help Australia win yet another series. Lanning brings with her the experience of playing 112 T20Is, from which she averages 35.71.
MPL fantasy XI
AUS-W vs IND-W 3rd T20I – where and what time to watch the match live in India
If you are in India, you can watch the Australia women vs India women T20I series on Sony Sports Network. The match will begin at 1.40 PM IST on October 10.
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