Charged by World Cup success, India look to change narrative in Australia

The India women's team, in their first significant assignment after winning the ODI World Cup at home, travel to Australia for a multi-format series, beginning February 15. The two teams are set to play three T20Is and as many ODIs, followed by a Test match. Contests between these two teams often lead to competitive games, some drama and performances that get etched in history. Here are a few takeaways heading into India's tour Down Under.

India head into the series as world champions, while Australia are no longer defending champions in either format - a situation they are not used to. With Australia having dominated the women's game, especially in the last decade-and-a-half, this provides a unique context to this competition.

The fact that Australia will be playing under a new captain in Sophie Molineux, and trying to fill an Alyssa Healy-size hole at the top of the order, could make the task even more challenging for the hosts.

India, meanwhile, have long been touted as the sleeping giants of women's cricket, and their first world title would egg them on to think that the giant has awoken from its slumber and is ready to conquer. With confidence and momentum on their side, they will want to build on their World Cup win by getting the better of Australia in their own backyard.

India have won just four of their 19 ODIs against Australia in Australia, and were whitewashed 3-0 the last time around, in 2024. In T20Is, India have a marginally better record - four wins in 11 completed games - but they would want to improve those numbers across both formats. And they will be eyeing a first ever Test win in the country as well.

Despite their recent failings at world events, Australia still are the team to beat, and getting the bragging rights over them on their own turf will also be a massive accomplishment for India.

For long, India picked their T20I squad as an extension of their ODI squad. But, with the Women's Premier League (WPL) providing a platform for more players to showcase their skills in the shortest format, it has led to selection for T20Is to be more specialised.

Dropping a top-order anchor in Harleen Deol and recalling Bharti Fulmali for the first time since 2019, after she reinvented herself as a finisher, is a prime example that the think tank is now focusing on getting the right profiles for the roles that need to be filled in the team.

Most of the T20I squad is otherwise similar to the ODI squad, but with several domestic players like Anushka Sharma, Kanika Ahuja, S Sajana, Niki Prasad and Tanuja Kanwar showing promise with some explosive batting in the latest WPL season, the incumbents know that they need to adapt to the format to keep their place.

In the ODI World Cup, Deol started out as the first choice at one drop, but was soon replaced by Jemimah Rodrigues. When Pratika Rawal was ruled out of the competition, India called up Shafali Verma as her replacement and pushed her to open in the semi-final and final.

Having won the player of the match award in the World Cup final, Shafali looks like she's back as the first choice opener alongside Smriti Mandhana. It remains to be seen now if India bring Deol back at No. 3, pushing Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur down a slot each in the format, or if they continue with Rodrigues at No. 3. With Amanjot Kaur impressing with the bat at No. 3 for Mumbai Indians in the WPL, India would likely be more inclined towards letting Rodrigues continue in that role, with plenty of batting depth behind her.

Rodrigues looks set to make the No. 3 option her own in T20Is, if India's home series against Sri Lanka in December was anything to go by. But with Fulmali's addition, India have the option to push seam-bowling allrounder Amanjot up to No. 3 on the back of her WPL showing, and have Fulmali as a finisher, with Rodrigues, Harmanpreet and Richa Ghosh all moving down a slot.

India have won the ODI World Cup, but now they have a T20 World Cup coming up in four months and it presents Harmanpreet and Co the chance to do a double. India already experimented with a few options during their home T20Is against Sri Lanka in December, but going up against Australia, they will get a better assessment of where they stand in the format, and what are the areas they need to work on before they head to England for the World Cup.

In 2020, India were the losing finalists. In 2023, they were knocked out in the semi-finals and in the last edition, in 2024, they exited in the group stage itself. Having tasted silverware just last year, India will be hungry for more and this tour provides them an opportunity to not only identify weaknesses, but also make a clear statement that they will be a force to reckon with in this format, just like they did in ODIs.