Smriti Mandhana: Everyone is pumped up

India players celebrate a wicket during their match against New Zealand on Wednesday. Pic/Getty Images

Star India batter Smriti Mandhana on Friday said the team is seeking to draw motivation from the performance on the 2021 tour of Australia when the two teams clash in a crucial Women's ODI World Cup match here on Saturday.

‘We almost won the series'

In the series played last year, India lost 1-2, but ended Australia's 26-match winning streak. India had also famously derailed Australia's chances in the 2017 World Cup by beating them in the semi-finals.

Smriti Mandhana

"Everyone knows what happened in 2017. More than that, we discussed our last tour of Australia. We have done well against them and we almost won the series. That's the brand of cricket we want to play and that has been our motivation," she said at a virtual media interaction ahead of today's fixture.

The left-handed batter further said, "the girls are really motivated and everyone is pumped up to go and get two points on board, knowing the situation of the tournament and how important this match is. The team psychologist has also helped in this regard."

On the fitness of key batter Harmanpreet Kaur, Mandhana said "she is fit and available for tomorrow's game." Dwelling further on the 2021 tour of Australia, the India opener said: "Definitely we couldn't win the series. The second match, we almost won against them, so it would have been like a series win."

About veteran bowler Jhulan Goswami's 200th ODI match, Mandhana said: "It is a proud moment for all of us to be there for Jhulan di's 200th match. She has been motivating us and also all the girls back home."

She said Rachel Haynes was a key member of the Australian line-up and "she has been anchoring the innings for them." "That's why we'll be looking to get her out early. She is a very experienced player and it will be an interesting battle."

Oz coach Mott confident

Australia's coach Matthew Mott seemed to echo Mandhana's views and said he was confident those memories [of the 2017 defeat] wouldn't resurface. "It's a non-event internally," he said at a virtual media interaction.

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