The Indian team led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur recently hosted Australia led by Alyssa Healy for an all-format series that included a one-off Test match followed by a three-match ODI series and the three-match T20I series. The series got underway on 21st December 2023 and concluded on 9th January 2024.
The women in blue clinched a historic victory by 8 wickets, their maiden victory over Australia in the red-ball format. However, the home side suffered a heart-wrenching hammering in the white-ball format, as they suffered a whitewash in the ODI series and then failed to seal the T20I series after an emphatic victory in the 1st T20I of the series. It was an eventful series between both these sides that witnessed a series of emotions flowing on and off the field.
'It was tense'
Alyssa Healy talks about the awkward handshake with Harmanpreet Kaur.#CricketTwitter #INDvAUS via NCA Newswire pic.twitter.com/ntpGlIK98n
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 18, 2024
“It was tense, I will say that. There wasn’t a lot of handshaking going on pre-game or post-game. At the end of the day after the last T20 that we won and secured the series win, we did shake hands. Good eye contact then.” The Australian skipper Alyssa Healy speaks about the awkward moments between her and the Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
The Australian team continues to be a dominant force when it comes down to the white-ball format. The Indian team has failed to clinch the T20I series against Australia in the last three attempts. Their last T20I series victory over Australia came in the year 2016 when they clinched the three-match T20I series (2-1) in Australia. “I think there is always a lot of expectation and external noise about our team and how we’re performing they are so used to seeing us winning that I think at times they forget that we’ve seen actually quite a lot of change over the last 12 to 18 months that kind of goes unnoticed external to our group. Within our group, we’re really comfortable with where we’re at and the progression that we’re on and where we want to get to moving forward.” The Australian skipper Alyssa Healy speaks about the transition period and the changes in the setup in recent times that often go under the carpet.
– Quotes sourced from NCA Newswire