By News18,Ritayan Basu

Copyright news18

After staging a remarkable comeback to beat Australia by 102 runs in the second ODI in New Chandigarh on Wednesday, India will look to replicate that success in the decisive third match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday.
This series finale will also be the first women’s ODI played in the national capital after a gap of 29 years, 10 months, and 10 days. Following Wednesday’s dominant victory, expectations are high for India to secure their maiden bilateral ODI series win over Australia.
However, the hosts remain cautious of the visitors’ proven ability to recover under pressure after heavy defeats. India’s 102-run victory injected fresh energy into the team, with Smriti Mandhana’s superb 117 and a strategic six-bowler approach leading to their first home ODI win over Australia in 18 years.
Despite minimal contributions from other batters and continued dropped catches from the opening game, Smriti’s innings of 117 off 91 balls laid a solid foundation for India’s total of 292, their highest against Australia in this format.
The bowling unit was instrumental in the victory, with spinners, a returning Renuka Singh Thakur, and Kranti Goud making early and frequent breakthroughs to bowl out Australia for 190, handing the reigning world champions their heaviest defeat by runs in women’s ODIs.
India’s decision to switch from a five-bowler attack, mainly spinners, in the series opener to an additional bowler, enhancing their seam-bowling options, paid off. Combined with smart field placements, India maintained pressure from the powerplay onwards, never allowing Australia to dominate.
However, Renuka’s departure from the field midway through the 18th over and her absence from bowling thereafter underscored the need to manage her carefully, especially with a World Cup approaching. Her participation in Saturday’s game remains uncertain.
India will also aim for the middle order to build crucial partnerships and for the fielding unit to perform significantly better. The team has dropped ten catches while taking eight in this series. In ODIs in 2025, India has taken 47 catches while dropping 33, resulting in a catching efficiency of 58.7%, ranking 12th out of 14 teams.
For Australia, their 13-match unbeaten run in ODIs came to an abrupt end, and they will see Wednesday’s defeat as a wake-up call ahead of their ODI World Cup defence. Apart from Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland’s resistance, the team suffered from a lack of significant partnerships and inconsistent bowling.
It remains to be seen if opener Phoebe Litchfield, who missed the second match due to a low-grade quad strain, will be available for the decider, with the team management set to decide on her inclusion before the game.
Pace-bowling all-rounder Kim Garth might also return to the playing eleven after missing the second ODI, allowing Darcie Brown, who took 3-42, to step in. With the series tied at 1-1 and the ODI World Cup on the horizon, the stage is set for an exciting conclusion to the series between India and Australia.
IND-W vs AUS-W: Squads
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Sneh Rana and Tejal Hasabnis
Australia: Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Darcie Brown, Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicole Faltum, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Charli Knott, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, and Georgia Wareham
(With inputs from IANS)