India-W face must-win battle to keep ODI series alive vs dominant Australia-W

It was a tough start to the three-match ODI series for the Indian women's cricket team as Australia out-batted them in a high-scoring encounter in the first game. Phoebe Litchfield led the charge for the Aussies while India had their own trio of Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol and Pratika Rawal firing home impressive half-centuries.

With a series win on the line, the Women in Blue will be eyeing an important victory in Mullanpur, but that task will only be easier said than done.

India’s batting in recent times has found new horizons with the inclusion of Pratika Rawal at the top, who has been in the form of her life. Harleen Deol’s inclusion to the side did boost their overall batting flair. The presence of Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh does add good depth.

However, India's bowling unit will need to find a way to counter the Australian batting unit, which ran roughshod over the bowlers. Despite giving away a tad too many runs, Kranti Goud did exhibit sparks of brilliance in the last game. Apart from Goud, Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma did chime in with whatever they could in the face of a well-stacked Aussie batting unit. Notably, it is going to be interesting to see if India coach Amol Muzumdar does resort to his experienced seamer, Renuka Singh - who sat out of the first ODI - to get India a decent opening with the new ball and also get some crucial match experience under her belt.

Venue Watch:

The first game did underline the fact that it is a fairly decent batting track. A flat surface will once again be on offer with another possible run-fest in the making. Bowlers will have to come up with something extraordinary to stall the run-flow as two powerhouses in women’s cricket come face-to-face again.

Match Details:

Match: India-W vs Australia-W, 2nd ODI, 2025

Venue: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium

Date: 17th September, 2025

Time: 1:30 PM IST

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 57

India: 10

Australia: 47

Squads:

India:

Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kranti Gaud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Sneh Rana.

Australia:

Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicole Faltum, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Charli Knott, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham