India hand Minnu Mani a debut as Australia choose to bat first in 2nd ODI

The coin favoured skipper Tahlia McGrath as Australia won the toss and elected to bat first in the second ODI of the three-match ODI series against India.

Both sides have made one change each, with the Indians replacing pacer Titas Sadhu with off-spinning allrounder Minnu Mani and the Australians bringing in Sophie Molineux in place of Georgia Wareham. 

Dropping Titas seems like a strategic call after the first game, as Minnu’s inclusion strengthens India’s batting a bit because she can bat eight in the batting order. Moreover, Minnu also captained the India A women who toured here back in August. India also had the option of playing pace-bowling all-rounder Arundhati Reddy at eight. However, they went with the spinning option and just two pace options in the bowling department. 

Meanwhile, Australia have brought in left-arm spinner Molineux in place of leg-spinner Wareham. It’s almost a like-for-like replacement since both can contribute substantially with the bat, apart from taking the ball away from the right-handers. 

While the Australian side played the kind of ruthless cricket they are known for, the manner of the Indian capitulation in the first game would have worried the Indian camp. 

However, Coach Amol Muzumdar felt that his team hadn’t had much time to gel together before the game, which affected their performance. Now, hopefully, that won’t be the issue, and Team India can put up a much more spirited performance than what we saw in the first game. 

The Australians certainly expect India to fight back harder, just like they did with the ball in the first game, getting Australia five down before they could chase the paltry 100-run total. 

Playing XIs

India women: Smriti Mandhana, Priya Punia, Harleen Deol, Jemimadh Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Minnu Manni, Priya Mishra, Saima Thakor, Renuka Singh 

Australia women: Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Voll, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney (wk), Annabel Sutherland, Ash Gardner, Tahlia McGrath (capt), Sophie Molineux, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt

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