India women's national cricket team fielded debutant Shreyanka Patil for their must-win Wankhede clash against Australia on Saturday, December 30, 2023. In need of a victory to keep the series alive, India were sent to field first by Australia, who won the toss and chose to bat following their stellar performance on the same pitch just two days earlier. (Scorecard | Match Blog)
In another boost for India, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana returned to action after missing the first ODI. Shefali Verma, though, missed out on the action after being seemingly dropped out of the team.
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Born in Bangalore on July 31, 2002, Patil debuted for Karnataka in 2019 before quickly rising through the ranks in domestic cricket. She joined Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the first Women's Premier League in 2023 and later played for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2023 Women's Caribbean Premier League, finishing as the tournament's top wicket-taker with nine wickets.
Patil made her international debut for India in December 2023 in a T20 International against England, days before her first ODI start against Australia.
India will be relying on Patil to provide a spark with the ball following their defeat against Australia in the first ODI. The Women in Blue set a modest 282-run total for the Aussies to chase, which they did with ease, courtesy of brilliant displays with bat from Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, and Tahlia McGrath. Australia took the lead in the three-match ODI series as a result; another on Saturday would grant them a series win.
Playing XIs
Australia: Alyssa Healy(wk/c), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Alana King, Kim Garth, Darcie Brown.
India: Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Singh
