When presented with pressure situations, the Australian women's cricket team has come out on the right side nine times out of ten. Although Australia was leading the multi-format series against India in 2021, 6 points to 4 going into the T20I series, it was India who had the momentum.
The Women in Blue had lost the second ODI right on the last delivery courtesy of a controversial no ball call. They managed to pull one back in the last ODI and then dominated the test match and would have won it in all probability had rain not played spoilsport.
Australia were on the back seat going into the T20I series and would have been further jolted with the way Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues batted in the 1st T20I, which was again washed out. However, it is the character of the Australian team which shone through.
“We certainly expected India to come hard at us and that’s what’s happened," Australia captain Meg Lanning said. "It’s not a surprise, it’s not like we’ve been put on the back foot. It’s a good test for our group to be able to absorb some momentum and pressure that they have put on us and try to push back as hard as we can. I don’t think they would’ve bowled for four days in a row before so it was a good challenge for them, and they’ve had a pretty quiet few days and probably will continue to over the next little bit."
"There‘ll likely be some changes to our pace-bowling options throughout the T20 leg, just to make sure we’re looking after those bowlers. Coming into the T20 format, it’s something we know reasonably well, everyone is clear on what their role is. There’s no real thinking about what to do when you go out there, especially as a batter, you go out there and try to score and quickly as you can. I know the group has a bit of a buzz around it right now just to go there and play with some real freedom,” Lanning said.
It was a real arm wrestle in both the ODIs and T20Is and even the test match but Australia were successful in holding their nerve each time and getting the desired result. It might be a disappointment for the Indian fans but one must give credit to the Australian women for their brilliant handling of pressure.
