India’s women in blue hope for a home high in ICC ODI World Cup

Under Harmanpreet Kaur, the hosts head into the tournament high on confidence after recent wins

- Rasesh Mandal

It took a little bit of nudging after which India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana picked out their contest against holders Australia as the one that will get her team truly going in the Women’s ODI World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka _ September 30 to November 2.

The nod from captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who was seated next to her in the event held here on Monday to mark the 50-day countdown to the tournament, showed how focused the co-hosts already are. No one knows the stage better than Kaur and what it is to tame the formidable Australia, having played one of the great ICC ODI World Cup knocks ~aswashbuckling 171 in 2017 that helped India trounce Meg Lanning’s team in the semifinal

In many ways, India’s women in blue seek to draw inspiration from England’s Lionesses - their football team that beat serial winners Germany in Euro 2022 in front of a capacity home crowd at Wembley. It marked an end to England's decades of wait fora major football trophy-men or women ~ to come home.