AU-W vs IN-W Prediction: Who will win today's Australia-India 1st T20I?

Australia Women and India Women will lock horns in the first game of a three-match T20I series on Thursday, October 7, at the Carrara Oval in Queensland.

Australia and India have played three ODIs and a Day-Night Test thus far and the games turned out to be exciting. The first ODI at Harrup Park in Mackay was a one-sided affair as Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning scored fifties to script Australia’s nine-wicket win.

In the second game at the same venue, Jhulan Goswami failed to defend 13 runs as Australia took a 2-0 lead. The third match was a memorable one for India as they snapped Australia’s 26-match winning-streak in ODIs. Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia scored half-centuries for the Women in Blue.

The pink-ball Test at Carrara Oval, meanwhile, was marred by rain. But Smriti Mandhana’s century made headlines. Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma scored fifties as well. Ellyse Perry, who looked out of form in the ODIs, scored 68 in the first innings and also picked up a couple of wickets.

In the T20 format, Harmanpreet Kaur’s India have only won six out of 20 games against the Aussies. The last time these two teams met, Australia beat the Women in Blue by 85 runs in the final of the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup at the renowned Melbourne Cricket Ground.

For the upcoming series, pacer Tayla Vlaeminck has been deemed fit after she missed the ODIs and the one-off Test. Haynes, who sustained a hamstring injury in the first ODI, won’t be available. Alyssa Healy is a batter to watch out for as she has scored fifties in her last two T20Is against India.

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Can India make a winning start to the series?

India have given tough competition to Australia in the T20Is in the latter’s backyard. Out of nine T20Is on Australian soil, India have beaten the hosts four times. Kaur and Co. will thus want to get off to a good start.

Healy prefers facing the Indian attack and her top score of 90 in T20Is is also against India. If the visitors want to get past the Aussies, they have to find a way of dismissing Healy at the earliest.

Prediction: Australia Women to win the match.