Trisha Ghosal in Delhi
Two ODIs gone, one left to decide. The India–Australia women’s series has shifted from Mullanpur to Delhi, where tomorrow’s third and final game will hand one side the bragging rights. Both teams arrive with very different sets of questions, but with the same urgency: win, and take the series.
India’s story so far has been written largely by one player. Out of 573 runs scored in the series, Smriti Mandhana has piled up 175 —30.54% of the aggregate. Each time she has batted, India looked capable of stretching towards 320. Each time she departed, the scoring slowed, the innings faltered. The left-hander has been the batting axis, but the question now is whether her teammates can lighten the load.
The balance of India’s XI is also under scrutiny. The formula of five batters, three seamers and three spinners worked well in Mullanpur, but will it hold on the flat, run-friendly surface expected in Delhi? For a batting order already leaning heavily on Mandhana, the risk of being one short is clear.
Australia, meanwhile, find themselves in unfamiliar territory. They don’t often lose, and rarely as heavily as they did in the second ODI. Heat has taken a visible toll — today’s practice session again fell in the sweltering afternoon — and their bowlers have struggled to find breakthroughs. Megan Schutt’s form is under the microscope. Do they stick with her, or turn to Kim Garth? Does Grace Harris come into the mix for extra spark?
What is certain is that the Australians will not hold back. They are too proud a side, too used to winning, to let India dictate for long. Expect a sharper, harder contest from the visitors, and a stiffer test for India’s resolve.
Tomorrow, in Delhi, this series will find its full stop. For India, it is about proving they are more than just Smriti Mandhana. For Australia, it is about reminding the world why defeat remains an exception, not a habit.
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