Adaptability key for Australia ahead of India ODI series decider

19 Sep 2025 Laura Jolly, in Chandigarh

Gardner looks at how Australia will respond to their record thrashing as the ODI series action moves to Delhi

Adaptability is the buzz word for Australia ahead of Sunday's ODI series decider against India in Delhi, as they look to bounce back from their heaviest-ever one-day defeat.

The Australian squad had their first look at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday afternoon – a venue that several squad members have recent Women's Premier League experience at, but where Australia have not played a game since the 2016 T20 World Cup.

Gardner embraces Powerplay role as Aussies fine tune for World Cup

Opener Phoebe Litchfield, who missed Wednesday's loss with a low-grade quad strain, took part in a running session on the outfield but did not venture into the nets, and her availability for Saturday's game was due to be assessed Friday evening.

Reflecting on the second ODI, which saw Australia bowled out for 190 chasing India's 292, allrounder Ashleigh Gardner said there was room for improvement across the board.

"(It’s) not necessarily a wake-up call, but I think it shows the powerhouse that India are and the strengths that they possess," Gardner told reporters in Delhi on Friday.

"There's no denying that we didn't play our best game of cricket and we're okay with that – there's plenty of learnings to take out of that going into what is such a huge campaign for us.

"We got out played in all facets of the game and looking forward, there's plenty of things that we can change going into tomorrow's match.

"Going into what's a huge World Cup we want to win as many games as possible, so going into a series decider is fantastic for both teams, there's a lot to play for, coming to a new venue as well.

"A lot of us haven't played heaps of cricket here. We've only had T20 cricket to reflect on, so making sure we're trying to adapt on the run, and then take a lot of learnings at the last round and then hopefully implement them tomorrow."

Australia look for lessons in historic defeat with Cup looming

Australia struggled to contain India opener Smriti Mandhana in Wednesday's loss, with her 117 the only contribution above 40 in India's total.

A vastly improved bowling display from the hosts – led by new-ball quicks Renuka Thakur and Kranti Goud – then strangled the Australian batters.

Gardner said adapting quicker – with both bat and ball – would be crucial in unfamiliar conditions on Saturday, and throughout the next six weeks through the ODI World Cup.

"Looking at last game and knowing that we've got a lot of games at different venues that we've never played at, making sure that we're adapting on the run (is important) ... my learnings personally from the first game into the second game was making sure that you keep the stumps in play for as long as possible," she said.

"That's what the Indian bowlers did in the second game, probably in comparison to the first game and they made it really hard for our batters to score at times.

"They set really straight fields and then bowled really straight, so you had to manufacture the angles that you needed to try and hit.

"For our bowling group going forward, there's plenty of learnings out of that, making sure that you shut down one side of the field ... sometimes it's tricky where there's a left-right combination the whole time.

"Smriti batted fantastically, and made it really hard for our bowlers to adjust on the run, adjust almost every single ball to two different batters.

"Going forward, there's going to be plenty of that – we're going to come up against batters that are going to get set and make big scores, so it's being able to counteract that, and then have plans in place to hopefully not let that happen."

Australia crumble to record defeat against rampant India

Goud, a right-arm pace bowler who only made her senior debut earlier this year, was superb in restricting Australia's top order alongside the experienced Thakur, capturing the wicket of Alyssa Healy and helped to limit the tourists to just 25 runs from the opening Powerplay.

Gardner said the Australian batters would come armed with fresh plans for the 22-year-old.

"We've faced her a little bit in the WPL, and (we need to) make sure that we have our plans for each different batter to attack her differently and making sure that we're really positive in doing so," she said.

Qantas ODI tour of India 2025

September 14: First ODI: Australia won by eight wickets

September 17: Second ODI: India won by 102 runs

September 20: Third ODI, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, 6pm AEST

India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kranti Gaud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Sneh Rana

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicole Faltum, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Charli Knott, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

2025 Women's ODI World Cup

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

All World Cup matches to be broadcast exclusively live and free on Amazon's Prime Video. A free trial is available here.

Adaptability key for Australia ahead of India ODI series decider

Qantas ODI tour of India 2025

2025 Women's ODI World Cup

Australia's warm-up match

Australia's group stage matches

Finals

* All games involving Pakistan to be played in Colombo, including the semi-final and final if they qualify

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