Vadodara all prepared for the Monday clash between India and Australia

Indian and Australian women’s teams will play each other in the first of the three one-day international matches on Monday at the Reliance stadium in Vadodara. Both the teams sweated it out at the nets during their practice sessions before the match and said that they wish to start the series on a winning note.

Both the teams held a pre-match press conference on Sunday, where they revealed their strategies and put focus on winning the game. From India, vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur addressed the media along with coach Tushar Arothe. She said, “Our focus is on playing the best eleven in the first match. Each match is important and victories and defeats are part of every sport. It is important to execute the plans on the field. We will try and play good cricket. Our batsmen and bowlers are doing well but I think the middle order needs to contribute more. We need to play well. Australia is a strong side and we want to play according to the plan against them.” Coach Tushar Arothe added, “We have the home advantage and it looks like a good wicket to bat on. Our strength is our batting and in the absence of Jhulan Goswami, the senior bowlers need to take extra responsibility.”For Australia, captain Meg Lanning and coach Matthew Mott addressed the press conference. Meg said, “We lost to India in the World Cup semi-final last year, which really hurt. They are a good side and they are playing some excellent cricket. But we are confident and well-prepared. We hope to see a big crowd.” Matthew added, “It is great to see that the Indian media is highlighting women cricketers and the fact that Indian women cricketers are getting such recognition from the public is good for the sport.”