When it comes to challenges in women’s cricket, it doesn’t get bigger than facing Australia. The current holders of both World Cup titles, they are the benchmark for excellence, and have been so for a while.
As Harmanpreet Kaur and Co get ready to face them over the next three weeks, it feels like the game is at an interesting crossroads. Can India show the world that the advent of the Women’s Premier League and increased exposure to top-level cricket has helped reduce the gap with Australia? Can Australia be the same dominant force at the international level now that Meg Lanning has officially stepped aside?
The one-off Test (the first in 40 years in India between these two sides), followed by three ODIs and three T20Is, will play a part in answering some of those questions. The white-ball assignments carry far more relevance for both teams, with two World Cups coming up in the next two years in sub-continental conditions. But first up, the attention is on the Test match that starts at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday with India on a high after a 347-run win against England – the biggest by runs in women’s Tests.
Few would understand the Aussie challenge better than Harmanpreet, who has been competing against and with some of the best over the last few years. “Australia is a side with many all-rounders, and a number of them perform with both bat and ball. They are always contributing. They are not dependent on one person to win them a match,” Harmanpreet said on Wednesday. “That’s why we looked so strong in the Test against England too because everyone stepped up, that’s something Australia have been doing for a while which makes them stand out. We can learn that from them, that’s why they are the best.”
It’s that all-round strength that India would need to negate over the next four days at the Wankhede. India did a lot of things right against Heather Knight and Co in Navi Mumbaiwinning session after session and keeping the energy up. Women’s cricket teams don’t play enough Tests, and rarely play back-to-back, so India’s challenge would be to bring that intensity once again because Australia have the knack – and firepower – to fight back.
The WPL impact
Harmanpreet will also look to bring in the additional knowledge of what kind of form the Aussie stars are in, having been the only Indian involved in the recent Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) edition. On the flip side, Alyssa Healy and Co come into the series with improved knowledge of Indian conditions too, having been part of the inaugural edition of WPL at these venues. Of course, the hope for India would be that the WPL will play a significant role in catching up with Australia’s might.
“Australia have played WBBL for 9 years, England have had a league for a few years, but now there is no doubt that the standard of WPL is right up there,” India pacer Shikha Pandey told The Indian Express from the sidelines of the shoot for ‘Queens of Cricket’.
“It’s one of the biggest women’s sports leagues ever. Just to have that sort of weight behind WPL in just one year is amazing and I am very sure that as more seasons happen, with more teams, things will only get better. We have not taken that last step in ICC events, in semifinals and finals. Personally, from the high-intensity situations I faced in WPL, the scenarios that go into my memory bank make me that much richer as a cricketer. That would help our cricketers a lot,” Shikha added.
Another India player was also not short of confidence.
“I actually don’t think we are that far away from Australia now,” spinner Radha Yadav told this daily. “We have been doing well; in the last year too we gave them good matches. We are working really hard on narrowing that gap, starting right from our diet to fitness and the game skills too. I believe we are not that far away from dominating.”
Despite all the success that Australia have had, their rivalry with India has always been competitive in recent times. And within the context of the success Asian sides have had in 2023 against some of the traditional powerhouses, there are already signs of a more level playing field.
“In general in international cricket, with Sri Lanka defeating England away and Pakistan defeating New Zealand away, the gap is getting bridged,” Shikha added.
Big shoes to fill
Healy is no stranger to leading the side but this series marks the official start of her full-time captaincy.
“I think they are unbelievably huge shoes to fill in the sense of replacing Meg. The success that she had not only as a player but obviously as a leader of the Australian cricket team is fairly unmatched right around the men’s and the women’s game,” Healy said.
As she rightly pointed out, Australia are ‘unbelievably’ blessed to have class all-rounders, with three or four of their potential top seven batters also being excellent bowlers. It gives them great balance, and they can shore up their bowling attack with any number of combinations. It’s a fun headache to have as a captain. But Healy also acknowledged that India are not far away from building a dominant team of their own.
“These Australia versus India series are hotly contested. Does not matter what format it is, it is always really, really competitive. They are two of the best sides in the world going head to head. India, obviously in their home conditions, are hard to beat. We have had some success over here in the past but the sheer amount of talent in that dressing room, you cannot underestimate at any point in time,” Healy said.
“We have seen over the last couple of years that we have managed to get the edge over them a little bit in key moments in key tournaments, but it is not too far down the path that, that is going to swing and this Indian team is going to be incredibly dominant for a long period of time.”
Both teams have admiration for each other from afar, but as they step out onto the field, sparks are likely to fly. It promises to be a fascinating ride over the next month.
Australia’s squad for Test: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle (Test only), Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20s only), Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham
India’s squad for Test: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar
