Key events
Megan Schutt has the new ball, looking to exploit any bounce in this pitch, and take advantage of the overcast conditions. Pratika Rawal is on strike.
India’s openers head to the square in the vibrant blue uniforms that served them well in the T20s. Australia have ditched the forest green in favour of canary yellow.
Conditions
With the wind coming off the ocean it’s not as hot and muggy as might have been expected at this time of year. Temperatures are in the high 20s with plenty of cloud cover around which may help the ball swing. Thunderstorms have pock marked the region and remain a hazard but should blow through by mid-afternoon.
India XI
Pratika Rawal is back to open for India after her World Cup injury. Shafali Verma drops down to the middle order.
India 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Pratika Rawal, 3 Shafali Verma, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (c), 5 Jemimah Rodrigues, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Kashvee Gautam, 9 Sree Charani, 10 Kranti Gaud, 11 Renuka Singh
Australia XI
In a huge blow for the hosts Ellyse Perry has been ruled out, which opens the door for Georgia Voll to make some runs, while further down the order Kim Garth has failed to prove her fitness, allowing Megan Schutt an opportunity – Schutt wasn’t even in the original ODI squad, but she has been added along with Lucy Hamilton.
Both Perry and Garth have been ruled out of the remainder of the ODI portion of this series with quad injuries sustained in the third T20i. “Their availability for the Test match will be further assessed at the end of the ODI series,” Cricket Australia have said.
Australia: 1 Alyssa Healy (c), 2 Phoebe Litchfield, 3 Georgia Voll, 4 Beth Mooney (wk), 5 Annabel Sutherland, 6 Ashleigh Gardner, 7 Tahlia McGrath, 8 Sophie Molienux, 9 Alana King, 10 Megan Schutt, 11 Darcie Brown
India win the toss and will bat first
A fourth consecutive toss win for Harmanpreet Kaur and the world cup winners will get first use of the Allan Border Field pitch. Alyssa Healy would have bowled first anyway.
There are some murmurings from the ground that Australia have a couple of significant injuries to contend with. More on that when XIs are confirmed at the toss.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of the first ODI of the multi-format series between Australia and India. We’ll be under way at Allan Border Field in Queensland at 1:50pm local time (2:50pm AEDT).
These are unfamiliar times for Australian cricket. They are unlikely to last long, but it is nonetheless noteworthy that the normally dominant women’s team are not in possession of either World Cup trophy and lost the T20 series to India that preceded these ODIs, alongside the men being bundled out of their T20 World Cup at the humiliation stage.
Mitigating factors abound, most pertinently for us today a changing of the guard as generational greats are replaced by newcomers still refining their craft. At the top of this list is Alyssa Healy, who returns to skipper her country during a valedictory series before international retirement. Healy will captain from the outfield with the veteran already handing over the wicket keeping gloves to Beth Mooney. Sophie Molineux, Healy’s successor as T20 captain, returns to the rank and file.
Australia have never lost at AB Field, but they have never faced an Indian side with so much quality or confidence. The recently crowned World Cup winners chased down a massive 339 the last time these teams faced off, and with momentum from the T20s behind them they are unlikely to be fazed by the occasion.
I’ll be back with the toss and teams shortly. If you want to get in touch while I’m around, you can reach me at jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/feb/24/australia-vs-india-first-womens-cricket-odi-one-day-international-aus-v-ind-live-scores-updates
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