"The Test in Australia will be different" - Mithali Raj opens up about playing with pink ball under lights

As the Indian women's team embark on a new challenge in Australia, captain Mithali Raj has conceded that playing Test cricket under lights will be a new challenge for the team.

India are slated to play their maiden pink-ball Test against Australia from September 30 at the WACA in Perth. Addressing a virtual press conference on Saturday ahead of flying out, Mithali Raj said the team will be looking to carry the confidence of playing good cricket in the one-off Test match in England.

🗣️ Australia 🇦🇺 tour will help us prepare for the World Cup🏆, says #TeamIndia 🇮🇳 Captain @M_Raj03.#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/IXGXX9xpnR

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) August 28, 2021

"We will definitely carry the confidence of playing in the longer format," Mithali Raj said. "The Test in Australia will be slightly different because we will be playing with the pink ball under lights. The experience will be different because we have never played with the pink ball under lights before," she added.

The team led by Mithali Raj staged a comeback on the final day of the Bristol Test in June, thanks to a brilliant 104-run partnership between Sneh Rana (80*) and Taniya Bhatia (44*). This helped the visitors save the match after conceding a crucial lead in the first innings.

We don't go with a set mindset - Mithali Raj

The upcoming Test match between India and Australia will witness a good contest between bat and ball with both sides boasting some good players. Mithali Raj asserted that they will play according to the situation of the game.

"I'm sure the girls are following the men's Test in England, where the momentum changes in the longer format. The way we play is how the situation is on the ground, how the game unfolds on a particular day, in a particular session. We don't go in with a set mindset. It's all about how we apply ourselves at that moment," Mithali Raj added.

India will play three ODIs and the same number of T20Is along with the one-off Test. The ODIs will commence on September 19 at the North Sydney Oval.

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India focused on World Cup next year: Ramesh Powar

Team head coach Ramesh Powar has emphasized that the primary objective will be to prepare for the 2022 World Cup. The former India cricketer highlighted that they will focus on the ODIs and look to carry the winning momentum into the Test match.

"I think we need to understand we are going to play ODIs first," Ramesh Powar said. "World Cup [in February-March next year] is a very important tournament for us and we're focusing on that. If you see only the one-off Test, we can't go in with a mindset of preparing for that.

Powar added:

"I think it is about taking the one-day confidence into Test. The last series, the way we came back, without our stars getting their rhythm, I'm confident that we don't have to prepare separately for the pink-ball Test. We back our players in the format, and they are good enough to react to the situation."

India squad for one-off Test & ODI series: Mithali Raj (captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Ekta Bisht.

India squad for T20Is: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh Thakur.