The visitors piled on the runs in their first T20I meeting with Australia since the World Cup and insist there's more to come
'Fearless' India's washout warning shot for Aussies
Indian young gun Jemimah Rodrigues has borrowed one of the Australian side's favourite phrases and put it back on the world champions, insisting the visitors are intent on playing "fearless cricket" as they look to snatch this multi-format series.
While game one of the T20I leg was washed out on the Gold Coast on Thursday night, there was time enough for Rodrigues to put on a sparkling show, the right-hander carving out 49no from 36 balls and showcasing her outstanding off-side play to push India to 4-131 after 15.2 overs before rain curtailed proceedings.
After the match, Rodrigues promised there are "loads of runs coming still" from her flashing bat as the 2020 T20 World Cup runners up look to turn the tables on Meg Lanning's side.
"We're very confident, especially (after) the last two ODIs being so close and the Test match where we fought back so well – that obviously gives us a lot of momentum and as we spoke even in the dressing room, we've got to continue that momentum," she said.
"And we have a very young side, there's a lot of energy in this side and everyone's fearless, so we just want to play a fearless brand of cricket.
"I could see (that) today and it was really good to be back with this side and see some extraordinary cricket."
Australia quick Tayla Vlaeminck, who claimed 0-32 from four overs in her first competitive match in six months, conceded India's flat-out aggression forced the hosts to at times recalculate their plans from the back foot.
"There's a lot that we can learn (from India's innings)," Vlaeminck said. "I think it's just trying to get your head around different plans when batters are doing different things.
"We probably didn't adjust quickly enough. I think there were times where we could've gone to Plans B and C a bit quicker.
"It's a really good challenge for our group. It's obviously a very tight series … they're a very good cricket side and we've seen how much they've improved even in the last 12 months since that World Cup.
"They've got some very aggressive batters who can take the game away from you … We'll look at that over the next couple of days and hopefully come out with some better plans."
Rodrigues meanwhile admitted it was frustrating to have been omitted from the India side for the ODI and Test legs of the series, but said the recent Hundred tournament in the UK, in which she was the second leading run-scorer, had given her considerable confidence.
"Today I was just happy to be back out there after so long," the 21-year-old said. "I've waited a long time for this ... sometimes on the inside you feel a bit, 'When will my time come?'
"Today that chance came and I was just enjoying it, and I'm not very disappointed that the fifty didn't happen because I know there's loads of runs coming still.
"Honestly, any player would be frustrated not getting picked in the ODIs, especially when I knew I was batting well and I was in good form, but ... it's just important that the team finds the right balance.
"Playing The Hundred gave me a lot of confidence ... that's why it's very important for us to have more matches like The Hundred and hopefully a Women's IPL so that (with) the experience over there you can come here and play international cricket even better, and take women's cricket to the next level."
CommBank Series v India
Australia lead India 7-5 on points
Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham
India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh.
First ODI:Australia won by nine wickets
Second ODI: Australia won by five wickets
Third ODI: India won by two wickets
One-off Test: Match drawn
Oct 7: No result
Oct 9: Second T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast
Oct 10: Third T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast
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