AUS-W vs IND-W 1st ODI: Taking confidence from T20I series win, India eyes another triumph over Australia

Having secured a stunning T20I series triumph, reigning world champion India will have the psychological edge when it takes on Australia in the first ODI of a three-match series in Brisbane on Tuesday.

India had beaten Australia in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 semifinal in Navi Mumbai, and the host would be looking to avenge that stunning defeat.

What makes the series even more significant is the fact that one of Australia’s greatest players, Alyssa Healy, will be making her swansong ODI appearance in this rubber. She will be ending her illustrious career after the one-off Test against India starting on March 6 in Perth.

Healy will return to lead Australia after missing the three-match T20I series, which India clinched 2-1 after winning the decider by 17 runs in Adelaide on Saturday. It was Australia’s first bilateral series defeat since 2017.

Star leg-spinner Alana King is also coming to the ODI and Test sides after being overlooked for the T20 series.

For India, Kashvee Gautam, Harleen Deol and Pratika Rawal will come in to replace Arundhati Reddy, Bharti Fulmali, and Shreyanka Patil. Having recuperated from an ankle injury, batter Pratika was added late to the ODI squad.

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Jemimah Rodrigues, who made a stunning 127 in India’s five-wicket win over Australia in the ODI World Cup, will be another batter to watch out for. She contributed 59 and shared a 121-run partnership with Smriti Mandhana in the third T20I win.

Star opener Smriti is expected continue to be India’s batting mainstay after her match-winning 82 in the third T20I, while India will also be banking on captain Harmanpreet Kaur to lend muscle to batting.

In the bowling department, Renuka Thakur and Sree Charani will go into the ODI series after being among the wickets in the T20I matches while veteran Deepti Sharma would look to come good after a mediocre show in the shortest fortmat.

There is no dearth of match-winners in the star-studded Australian side, which has long dominated white-ball cricket. It will seek inspiration from the likes of Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, besides Healy and King, to make amends for the T20I series loss.

After the opening game in Brisbane, the other two ODIs of the series will be held in Hobart on February 27 and March 1.

The trophy for the multi-format series will be decided on points, with two points for each T20 and 50-over victory and four for a Test triumph.

(With inputs from PTI)

Published on Feb 23, 2026