Following a record-breaking victory over England last week, Harmanpreet Kaur and her team will face Australia in a one-off Test starting on December 21, Thursday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Successive Tests in women’s cricket are so unusual that the last time any team appeared in them was in the 2003 Women’s Ashes series. Indian Women are in great confidence after thrashing England by 347 runs.

And now, they will look to secure their maiden Test win against Australia. India has never beaten Australia in ten Tests, and the contest will challenge them in terms of fitness and temperament, given they are playing back-to-back matches. Team India has a new coaching staff and several new faces in their roster, and the battle will only become more difficult when they meet the all-conquering Australians.

In a press conference on Wednesday, skipper Harmanpreet admitted that the team management is very cautious in managing certain players’ workloads. When you play back-to-back Tests, the most crucial thing is your recovery and how fresh you are feeling. We have tried to take care of the workload of players like Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar, who batted and bowled a lot in the last Test and didn’t get any rest. We wanted them to train just enough to feel ready for this next game, the 34-year-old batter said.

We want to carry the same energy into this match. It is very exciting, knowing Australia is such a good team and everyone wants to beat them. Australia has a balanced side and everyone has experience of all formats. We can’t say Meg Lanning is not there and take them lightly, Harmanpreet concluded.