India Women vs Australia, AUS-W vs IND-W 2023-24, Today Match Prediction 21 December 2023

IND-W vs AUSW Match Prediction & Analysis

In a cricketing world which is mainly dominated by the white ball, pyrotechnics and loud music accompanying every boundary, the traditions and serenity of Test cricket are in the spotlight at the moment in women's cricket.

Any Test series in India is viewed as the ultimate challenge for the visiting side and this one-off Test at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai will be just that for Australia Women. The ball will spit and turn at the batters who are most used to bouncy and true tracks down-under!

This is only the third Test between these two sides this century so the players will view it as a privilege to play with the red ball and we can expect some top performances from both teams.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

IND-W

W

IND-W

428/10 in 104.3 4.1

IND-W vs ENG-W 2023

India beat England by 347 runs 14 Dec 2023

ENGW

131/10 in 27.3 4.76

AUSW

W

ENGW

463/10 in 121.2 3.82

Womens Ashes 2023

Australia Women won by 89 runs

22 Jun 2023

AUSW

178/10 in 49.0 3.63

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

India Women Preview

After losing the WT20I series against England Women earlier this month, India Women had no problems in thrashing the same opposition in their one-off Test at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai last week.

Nearly all of India Women's side contributed during the mammoth victory - Satheesh Shubha hit 13 fours and top scored in the first innings with 69 whilst captain Harmanpreet Kaur hit 44 as they scored quick runs in the second innings to setup a declaration.

But the player who will come into this Test with the most confidence is Deepti Sharma who made scores of 67 and 20 whilst spinning a web of discomfort for the England Women's batters and taking 5/7 in the first innings before 4/32 in the second innings! Unsurprisingly, she arrives at the Wankhede Stadium with the Player of the Match Award from last week.

India Women Predicted Playing XI:

Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Satheesh Shubha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

India Women Actual Playing XI:

Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Australia Preview

This match represents the start of a new era for Australia Women who will be under the tutelage of Alyssa Healy, their new permanent captain. However, she is likely to play only as a batter as her recovery from the finger injury caused by a dog bite has taken longer than planned.

After seeing England Women's batters struggle in Mumbai, Australia Women will know that they will face a trial by spin at in a country which has a reputation for turning pitches. Alongside Healy, Ellyse Perry and vice-captain Tahlia McGrath will be charged with batting time and making big contributions in this Test.

Australia Women have a strong spin stable themselves! It would be no surprise to see Jess Jonassen, Georgia Wareham and Ashleigh Gardner all take the field for this Test.

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

Alyssa Healy (c), Beth Mooney (wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Heather Graham, Jess Jonassen, Georgia Wareham, Lauren Cheatle, Megan Schutt

Australia Actual Playing XI:

Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Lauren Cheatle, Kim Garth, Jess Jonassen, Alana King

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

We should get dry weather throughout the four days in Mumbai. Humidity will be moderate across the Test Match and we can expect highs of 32 degrees, albeit with some cloud cover on each of  Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

IND-W vs AUSW Pitch Report

A par first innings score on this wicket will be around 450 in the first innings. There will be good pace and bounce over the first couple of days before the spinners will come to the fore.

Toss: To Bowl

Although there is likely to be a bit more in the pitch for the pace bowlers across the opening overs of the game, both teams will want to get first use of the surface with the bat and will not want to bat last at the Wankhede Stadium! We expect the captains to elect to bat first if they win the toss.