Australia are hoping a change of format will swing the advantage back in their favour when they take on India in three T20 Internationals that will decide the multi-format series.
The Australians take a 4-2 points lead into the final segment of the series but India have their tails up after winning the third One-Day International and outplaying Australia throughout the solitary Test.
While Meg Lanning’s side beat India in the final of last year’s T20 World Cup, it was Harmanpreet Kaur’s team who stunned Australia when they won their opening encounter of the tournament and the Indian captain, who returns to the side after recovering from injury, has been encouraged by competitiveness of the series so far.
"We have a great opportunity to win the three T20s then our job will be done,"
Lanning is clearly welcoming the return to the familiarity of the shortest form of the game after a tough four days in the rain-affected Test, in which India dominated play from the first session.
"Everyone found the last week of the Test a challenge in different ways. It's a format we don't play a lot and have experience in different situations. You have so many unknowns and aren't really sure how to approach situations if you haven't been there before. Now coming into the T20 format it's something we know reasonably well and everyone is pretty clear on what their role is."
Tayla Vlaeminck is set to make her return to the Australian side after an achilles issue prevented her from playing in the ODIs and the Test.
Stella Campbell and Darcie Brown will likely be rested for the first T20I as Australia looks to carefully manage the workloads of their young quicks, which means Hannah Darlington and Maitlan Brown could be in the frame for selection, along with Nicola Carey and Tahlia McGrath.
Rachael Haynes’ absence since the third ODI with a hamstring injury means Australia will make at least one change to their middle order but Lanning suggested an allrounder would be preferred over a specialist batter.
"All our allrounders are pretty good with the bat, they could be batters in their own right, so that's a bit of a luxury for us," Lanning said. "Balance is important, having that variety with the ball is important and matching that with conditions. We feel like we have really good depth in those areas, just need to make sure we get those selections right."Meanwhile, Kaur said she has fully recovered from the fractured thumb that has kept her out of the side for the first four games of the series.
“I'm feeling much better now,” said Kaur. “I got a fracture before the first ODI and now I'm feeling much better and I'm very confident while batting and while fielding because earlier fielding was a concern.
“I was lacking a little confidence because whenever I was fielding the ball was giving me a very bad impact, but now I'm absolutely fine.
