New Delhi: In the wake of a 1-2 series loss to Australia, India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana emphasized the importance of the outing for assessing team dynamics rather than focusing exclusively on results. Speaking after the decider, which ended in a 43-run defeat, Mandhana remarked that the series served to identify team combinations and areas for improvement ahead of the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025.
India’s ambition for a historic bilateral series victory over Australia was thwarted, culminating in a record chase of 413 runs. However, Mandhana refrained from viewing the outcome as a drawback, stating, “This series was about getting the right combinations. Australia is the best opposition to test ourselves and see where we are lacking.”
Fielding emerged as a significant concern for the team, with India dropping over a dozen catches throughout the three-match series. Mandhana addressed this issue, saying, “There is a lot of difference in the fielding. We need to find the consistency in the team in terms of fielding as a unit together and not individual brilliance, so that’s one thing which we thought that we have to address before the World Cup.”
Despite the team’s challenges, Mandhana enjoyed a standout series, finishing as the top run-scorer with two centuries and a half-century. She dismissed notions of being overly reliant on her performance, highlighting the contributions of her teammates, including Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, and Pratika, noting, “Everyone in this squad is a match-winner. We’ve posted 300-plus even when I got out early.”
Her impressive 125 runs off 63 balls in the final ODI, which featured 17 fours and five sixes, kept India competitive in the challenging chase. However, she modestly stated, “I wouldn’t call it my best knock. For me, memorable innings are those where the team wins.”
Regarding the World Cup, Mandhana chose not to disclose India’s potential combination, emphasizing the need for adaptability based on match conditions. “We wouldn’t really want to reveal what the combination is going to be because the World Cup is still 8-10 days away. I wouldn’t say that we will have one particular combination; it would also depend a lot on the wicket,” she concluded.
