No Harman, no worries as Smriti to lead India vs Ireland
Rajkot: Riding high on a dominant performance against West Indies, India under Smriti Mandhana will look to carry forward their winning momentum when they take on Ireland in the first-ever women’s bilateral series, with the opening ODI scheduled here on Friday.
India had swept West Indies 3-0 in the ODI series, following a 2-1 triumph in the T20 series. Mandhana emerged as the top run-scorer across formats, scoring 148 runs in the ODI series, including two half-centuries, and 193 runs in the T20s, with three successive fifties.
Notably, she scored five consecutive half-centuries, only missing out in the final ODI and Mandhana will look to bring the same form as she leads the team in the absence of regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who has been rested alongside fast bowler Renuka Singh. “We had a good series against West Indies. 2-1 in the T20I series, 3-0 in the One-day series. Definitely the last series gives us a lot of confidence and different batters at different times got runs, and especially against West Indies our bowling attack was at point. So, we hope to keep the form going.”
With Kaur and Renuka missing, the responsibility shifts to the rest of the batters, including Harleen Deol, Pratika Rawal and Jemimah Rodrigues, to step up.
Deol was the top-scorer in the ODI series with 160 runs, including a brilliant 115, while Rawal and Rodrigues also had solid outings, scoring 134 and 112 runs, respectively, with a fifty each in the ODIs.
In the bowling department, Renuka’s absence will be felt as she was the leading wicket-taker with 10 wickets in the ODI series against West Indies. The onus will now fall on newcomers Titas Sadhu and Saima Thakor to make their mark.
Ireland, led by Gaby Lewis with all-rounder Orla
Prendergast as her deputy, will face a tough challenge against India.
The Irish team has never beaten India in the 12 ODIs they have played against them. India won their last encounter in the 2023 T20 World Cup by a narrow five-run margin.
However, Gaby said her team will go into the match with a winning mindset. “Our team has completed every practice session very well over the last three days. We enter the field with the intention of winning the first match,”
said Gaby.
