Ireland won the toss and elected to bat first against India in their historic first-ever ODI on Indian soil. Captain Gaby Lewis made the decision to set a target for India.
Ireland made three changes to their XI from the previous ODI against Bangladesh in November. Laura Delany, Christina Coulter Reilly, and Georgina Dempsey were brought into the team, reinforcing their batting lineup with eight proper batters. The team will miss the services of Amy Hunter, one of their key players, due to a foot injury.
India, with Smriti Mandhana captaining in place of the sidelined Harmanpreet Kaur (due to a niggle), has made a few changes. Tejal Hasabnis replaces Harmanpreet in the middle order. A notable inclusion is seam-bowling allrounder Sayali Satghare, who makes her debut in this match. With India resting their pace spearhead Renuka Singh, Satghare joins a relatively inexperienced seam attack, which has a combined total of just 13 ODIs in terms of experience.
This series is crucial for Ireland as they prepare for the World Cup qualifiers later this year. The team will rely heavily on the experience of Lewis and Delany, who are, in fact, the only two players with previous experience playing in India. Moreover, their knowledge of the conditions will be crucial for Ireland’s performance in this series.
For India, this series offers valuable opportunities for fringe players like Pratika Rawal, who impressed during her debut series against the West Indies.
The series will take place at Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, which is hosting women’s ODIs for the first time.
India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Tejal Hasabnis, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Sayali Satghare, Saima Thakor, Priya Mishra, Titas Sadhu.
Ireland XI: Sarah Forbes, Gaby Lewis, Una Raymond-Hoey, Orla Prendergast, Laura Delany, Leah Paul, Christina Coulter Reilly, Arlene Kelly, Georgina Dempsey, Freya Sargent, Aimee Maguire.
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