India Women, Australia renew Test rivalry

As the third and final ODI was hosted on Sunday and the following day was a rest day, the Mithali Raj-led squad had only two practice sessions in the lead up to the landmark Test. With no prior experience, the players have very little idea about how the pink ball would behave during the course of the game at the Metricon Stadium.

Australia, which played its maiden Day/Night Test in November 2017, also goes into the game with limited practice but its potent pace attack would look to wreak havoc on the greenish pitch. India and Australia last played a Test in 2006, with only Mithali and Jhulan Goswami featuring in that game among the current players on both sides.

Harmanpreet Kaur remains unavailable though she did have a hit in the nets on the eve of the game. Rookie batter Yastika Bhatia and pacer Meghna Singh, who made impressive debuts in the ODI series, could be handed their maiden Test caps.

Jhulan, Meghna and Pooja Vastrakar are likely to make up the pace combination while Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma are expected to be the all-rounders. Wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia, who was pipped by Richa Ghosh in the ODIs, could be back behind the stumps.