Perry hails 'clinical' performances

Ellyse Perry believes Australia's victories over India in the opening two ODIs of the Commonwealth Bank Tour of India are among the most comprehensive she's seen from the national side.

Australia were pushed at times by an Indian outfit desperate to make amends for their opening eight-wicket defeat in Thursday's game, but each time fought off their subcontinent rivals to secure a 60-run win and an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

It's been a resounding response from the Southern Stars away from home after the heartbreak of losing to India in last year's World Cup semi-final, while they've also secured four crucial ICC Women's Championship points.

"Winning the first two games has been incredibly important to us," Perry, who scored 70 and picked up two wickets, reflected after Thursday's match in Vadodara.

"Something that's so pleasing is that we've come off a really long summer at home and all the girls have played a lot of cricket but we've all come into this tournament with so much enthusiasm and energy and have really wanted to perform well over here in these conditions.

"We're aware of how good this Indian team is.

"For me, that's two of the most clinical and professional performances we've had.

"We've really stuck to our game plans and processes and I think that's really showing because of the professionalism and how much cricket we've played in the last 12 months, and particularly over our summer.

"It's been a really great start for us, but we have a lot of cricket left too."

India came into the series in red-hot form having completed ODI and T20I series wins in South Africa last month. There were signs of their potency during the second ODI – first, when Australia suffered a mini-collapse with the bat and then in Smriti Mandhana's scintillating 67 off 53 – but the home side have largely failed to deliver on their potential in the two matches to date.

But when asked if India's performances had been underwhelming, Perry disagreed.

"I don't think they've been underwhelming," she said. "I think they're a very good side with some world-class players.

"I'd probably like to give us some credit, that we've played some really good cricket at different times.

"We've just won the crucial moments in matches and I guess the score line doesn't reflect how it feels out there.

"We definitely felt under pressure with the ball at times today and even when we were batting there were some tough patches we fought through.

"We're so aware of India and next game will be no different, we'll be on our toes and knowing they can hit back anytime."

In addition to coming off a busy summer that included the Ashes alongside the Rebel WBBL and WNCL competitions, Perry puts the team's current ODI form down to the professionalisation of the Australian players, for whom cricket is now a full-time career.

"We're really fortunate to have some wonderful resources and to be full-time cricketers at the moment," she said.

"I think that's really reflecting in the way we're now approaching tours, the way we're training and preparing and also what we're putting out on the park."

The game is beginning to change in India too. Just last week, the BCCI granted its top echelon of international players contracts worth $AUD80,000 for the next 12 months and while the results haven't gone the home side's way so far in this series, the drastic shift in the Indian team's popularity since their World Cup final appearance has been apparent in the Gujarat city of Vadodara, which is hosting all three ODIs.

More than 12,000 turned out for Thursday's match – an even bigger crowd is tipped for Sunday's third and final ODI – and the sheer volume of noise from the parochial local fans provided Australia with an experience they've rarely encountered on the cricket field.

"It was amazing," Perry said. "The crowd has been phenomenal, to have that kind of atmosphere, albeit not cheering for us, it just creates such a buzz around the crowd.

"I think it's brilliant for the players, we all lift our performances when you've got that kind of atmosphere.

"I really hope it's a great crowd on Sunday, there's been some great quality cricket played so people can come down and watch a good show. We really do appreciate the support of the crowd and how much they love women's cricket."

Australia now have two days to recover and prepare for the third and final ODI. Despite being a dead rubber in the context of the series, there are still two vital Women's Championship points – which determine the teams that automatically qualify for the 2021 World Cup – on offer.

A win on Sunday would see the Southern Stars draw level with New Zealand at the top of the table on 10 points after two of seven rounds.

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