India women take on Australia in T20 tri-series opener

MUMBAI: Whitewashed by Australia in the three-match ODI rubber, the Indian women cricketers would be hoping for a reversal of fortunes when they clash with the same rivals in the lung-opener of the T20 tri-series starting here on Thursday.

England is the third team to figure in the tournament in which all matches will be played at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium.

The Indian women's team would take confidence from their 3-1 win against South Africa in the five-match T20 series held in the Rainbow Nation.

But having surrendered the ODI series rather tamely to Australia, it will be an uphill ask for the Harmanpreet Kaurled side to face the same opponents, although the format is different.

With back-to-back half centuries, Smriti Mandhana was the top run-getter for Indian women during the ODI series against Australia and she would look to continue her good run.

Among others, the batting would depend largely on the experienced duo of Kaur and Mithali Raj and the two players would need to fire big against a strong Australian pace attack.

India women also possess