Carey wants balance after maiden outings

With two matches for Australia under her belt and after claiming a maiden wicket that was more than five years in the making, Nicola Carey is already getting a taste of the ups and downs of international cricket.

On Monday, the pace-bowling allrounder was handed ODI cap NO.137, making a long-awaited debut for her country after first being included in an Australian squad in September 2012.

She produced an outstanding debut performance that drew praise from coach Matthew Mott and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy, Carey's 10 wicketless overs leaking just 28 runs and causing no shortage of problems for India's talented batting line-up.

But it was tougher going on Thursday for the 24-year-old as she came face to face with a home team hurting from a disappointing display in the series opener and determined to take a more attacking approach on a good batting wicket.

Carey's second international outing resulted in figures of 1-44 from seven overs, the high point coming in the 42nd over when she captured her first international wicket, Jess Jonassen taking a catch at point to remove Shikha Pandey.

"I was happy with the first game," Carey said from Vadodara on Friday. "(From the second game), there are a few things I can take away from that and work on to hopefully take into the third game.

"(Taking a wicket) was nice. I wasn't bowling that well, I didn't bowl well at all in the second game but to get my first wicket was pretty nice.

"It was good to get around the girls and celebrate. Alyssa Healy really got into my hair and gave me a good pat on the head and it was good fun."

Image Id: F2EE105B89FB47C4AE8464CE0B65A968 Image Caption: Alyssa Healy with a hearty congrats for Carey // Getty

While she didn't achieve the figures she wanted, Carey has now played in two comprehensive wins on Indian soil, while Thursday's match also offered the allrounder a chance to show her skills with the bat. Coming in at No.8, she found the boundary three times in a handy late-innings cameo of 16 off 10.

Her third experience in an Australian squad has been vastly different for Carey than her two previous appearances, when she was called up as a last-minute replacement player on both occasions.

On those tours, the likelihood of playing a game wasn't at the forefront of her mind, knowing it would take injuries or loss of form to break into reasonably settled line-ups.

This time, as a first-choice selection coming into a series where Australia had a vacant spot in their XI for an allrounder, Carey has thrived.

With Australia to play their third and final ODI against India on Sunday, Carey is determined to replicate her performance from the series opener.

"I'd like to be a little more consistent," she said. "I was really happy with the first game, so to get back to those lines and lengths will be good for the third game."

The NSW and Sydney Thunder player is also relishing the chance to work with Australia pace pair Megan Schutt and Ellyse Perry, and with assistant coach Ashley Noffke.

"That's been really nice, they've been around the group for many years now, so it's good to talk to them and to Ash who's been really helpful so far.

"He's got a lot of good ideas and a few different approaches I haven't done before.

"He's been really helpful not only with technical things, but also with my bowling plans and off-field stuff as well."

And while the ODI series win is already in the bag, Australia won't be letting down their guard as they eye a whitewash victory.

Two ICC Women's Championship points remain on the line, while winning momentum will also be important heading into next week's T20I tri-series against India and England.

The third and final ODI will be played in Vadodara on Sunday from 9am local time (2.30pm AEDT)

Commonwealth Bank Tour of India

Australia ODI squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Australia T20 squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Naomi Stalenberg, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

India ODI squad: Mithali Raj (Captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mona Meshram, Sushma Verma, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey, Sukanya Parida, Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma

India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Anuja Patil, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Rumeli Dhar, Mona Meshram.

England T20I squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Kate Cross, Alice Davidson-Richards, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Katie George, Jenny Gunn, Alex Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Amy Jones, Anya Shrubsole, Bryony Smith, Nat Sciver, Fran Wilson, Danni Wyatt

Warm-up match Australia beat India A by 321 runs. Report

Warm-up match Australia beat India A by seven wickets. Report

ODI series

First ODI Australia won by eight wickets Scorecard

Second ODI Australia won by 60 runs Scorecard 

Third ODI Reliance Stadium, Vadodara, March 18

T20I tri-series

First T20I Australia v India, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, March 22

Second T20I Australia v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 23

Third T20I India v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 25

Fourth T20I Australia v India, Brabourne Stadium, March 26

Fifth T20I Australia v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 28

Sixth T20I India v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 29

Final Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, March 31