Big picture
Two years after they played the T20I World Cup final in front of 88,000 fans at a packed MCG, Australia and India will square off in the gold-medal match at the Commonwealth Games 2022.
The setting is perhaps a little less intimidating, but Edgbaston will likely be sold out to its 25,000 capacity. This is a rivalry that is fast gaining ground as the second biggest in women’s cricket after England vs Australia.
Form guide
India WWWLW (last five matches, most recent first)
Australia WWWWW
Players to watch
India are blessed to have three quality allrounders in Deepti, Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana. Deepti has lent much needed batting depth and has been Harmanpreet’s go-to bowler to restrict run-flow, while Rana has been the banker. Vastrakar’s inclusion has given the team the balance they missed when they played Australia in the opener. She is a useful medium-pacer and can wield the long handle down the order. This is firmly a team that is carving out an identity that isn’t always superstar centric.
Team news
The only question dilemma India may have is between picking a makeshift wicketkeeper who offers batting depth in Yastika Bhatia or an out-and-out wicketkeeper in Taniya Bhatia. The spate of run outs under pressure on Saturday made it amply clear it helps to have a proper wicketkeeper in crunch moments.
India (possible): 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Deepti Sharma, 6 Taniya Bhatia (wk), 7 Sneh Rana, 8 Pooja Vastrakar, 9 Radha Yadav, 10 Meghna Singh, 11 Renuka Singh
She has bowled plenty in the nets lately, but game time remains elusive for superstar allrounder Ellyse Perry. Barring an injury or a late change owing to short turnaround time, it’s likely she may have to settle for watching Australia’s entire CWG campaign from the bench. Moreover, Meg Lanning has gone in with the same XI in all of their four games in the tournament.
Australia (possible): 1 Alyssa Healy (wk), 2 Beth Mooney, 3 Meg Lanning (capt), 4 Tahlia McGrath, 5 Rachael Haynes, 6 Ashleigh Gardner, 7 Grace Harris, 8 Jess Jonassen, 9 Alana King, 10 Megan Schutt, 11 Darcie Brown
Pitch and conditions
Forty overs of cricket would have already been played on the surface by the time the final comes around, with the bronze medal playoff between New Zealand and England having finished. On Saturday, the adjacent surface, prepared similarly with an even grass cover that aids consistent bounce, remained good for batting right through. Expect more of the same on Super Sunday.