Ind vs Ireland – Mandhana-led India trial combinations ahead of ODI World Cup; Ireland are looking for that first win

On By Littum

India will take on Ireland in a three-match ODI series starting on January 10 in Rajkot. The series marks Ireland’s first ever bilateral tour in Indiaand first bilateral series between the two teams since 2006. After this series, India will switch to T20 mode – as things stand, their next ODI assignment in July is against England, so they will be keen to get a few things straight here with one eye on the home ODI World Cup later this year. Sitting at the bottom of the Women’s Championship table and not qualifying directly for the World Cup, Ireland will look to end the cycle on a high with a maiden Women’s ODI win against India. Here’s a look ahead to the series:

Young talent in focus under Mandhana’s captaincy

India will be without their regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur, with Smriti Mandhana set to stand in. Mandhana has previously led India in the format only once, against New Zealand at home last year when Harmanpreet was out injured. India have also rested their leading fast bowler Renuka Singh, who was the highest wicket-taker in the previous series against West Indies. This means that Mandhana will be leading a rather inexperienced team. It is a chance for India to test players and increase their talent pool.

The hosts are likely to pick up Raghvi Bist at no. 4, in Harmanpreet’s place. Raghvi made his T20I debut last month and earned a maiden call-up to India’s ODI squad on the back of strong domestic performances. After playing a key role in Uttarakhand’s run to the final of the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy earlier last year, she impressed with scores of 82, 70 and 53 for India A against Australia A in August in Mackay.

With Renuka rested and Pooja Vastrakar still unavailable, Saima Thakor is likely to share new ball duties with Titas Sadhu. India might go in with one of Sayali Satghare – who can play medium pace – or an extra spinner in Tanuja Kanwar to replace Renuka. The bowling department looks inexperienced with Thakor, Sadhu and Priya Mishra all featuring in the ODIs against the West Indies, having played just 20 ODIs between them. With Arundhati Reddy continuing to miss out on selection and Renuka’s workload taking center stage, India are looking for back-ups in the pace department.

Can Prendergast inspire Ireland to a first win over India?

The key to how 2025 goes for them will be Orla Prendergast. She finished as her side’s top run-getter in 2024, taking nine wickets with her medium pace. Her best performance came in the first ODI against Sri Lanka where she made 122 and took three wickets.

Rawal in race to make the opening slot his own, with Shafali hot on his heels

Pratika Rawal broke into the Indian set-up for the West Indies series on the back of solid domestic results. Opening with Mandhana after Shafali Verma was dropped, Rawal scored 40, 76 and 18 in the three matches. However, since being dropped, Shafali has been doing the runs in domestic cricket. She finished as the top run-getter in the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy that ended on December 30, scoring 527 in seven matches at 75.29, including a 197 against Bengal. She continued her fine form in the ongoing Senior Women’s One Day Challenger Trophy. She started the tournament with a match-winning 91 off 71 balls for Team A in the chase against Team B and followed it up with a 58-ball 87 in the second match against Team C.

With Shafali holding on to the battle for the opener’s slot building up to the ODI World Cup, Rawal needs a good series here. Ahead of the first game, Mandhana said Shafali was “definitely into things” in ODIs, but also acknowledged Rawal’s contribution against the West Indies.

In-form Hunter out injured for Ireland

Lewis, who took over as captain from Delany last year, will lead a team that is a mix of youth and experience. But it will be missing a key component: Ireland will be without their star young wicketkeeper-batsman Amy Hunter, who has picked up a foot injury. Hunter, who is 19 but has already played 31 ODIs for Ireland, finished as their second-highest run-scorer in the format last year.

A new meeting place for women in India

It will be the first time that India will play at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. With India set to host the ODI World Cup later this year, they have been playing at different venues since last year to get used to different pitches and conditions. They played three ODIs against South Africa in Bengaluru, hosted New Zealand in Ahmedabad and then played the West Indies in Vadodara. This series will be played in Rajkot on 10th, 12th and 15th January.