Molineux poised to play major role in India blockbuster

Sophie Molineux is poised to return to Australia's XI for Sunday's ODI World Cup blockbuster in Visakhapatnam, as the reigning world champions seek a way to make early inroads into India's star-studded line-up.

Molineux missed Australia's most recent game against Pakistan in Colombo, with her workloads throughout the tournament being carefully managed following her return from a 10-month injury layoff.

But the left-arm spinner is poised to be a key weapon at the ACA-VDCA Stadium, as Australia look to emulate the success other left-arm spinners have enjoyed against India.

Speaking to reporters in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, Australia captain Alyssa Healy confirmed Molineux was available for selection, but stopped short of revealing her XI.

"I'd see her probably playing a really big role in particular more so against this opposition," Healy said.

"I think she's a really great match-up in that regard in these conditions.

"We'll wait and see how that plays out, but it is nice to have her available."

South Africa left-arm finger spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba took 2-46 against India at the same venue on Thursday, dismissing opener Smriti Mandhana and No.3 Harleen Deol.

Sri Lanka's left-armer Inoka Ranaweera also picked up 4-46 against Harmanpreet Kaur's team earlier in the tournament, accounting for four of India's top five batters.

Molineux took the new ball alongside Kim Garth in Australia's tournament opener against New Zealand, taking two wickets including one in her first over.

Australia will hope she can replicate that success against India, after they struggled to make early breakthroughs – albeit in flatter batting conditions than those seen in the World Cup to date – during last month's bilateral series.

Molineux did not feature in that series, only making her return from injury for Australia's World Cup opener.

Superstar India opener Smriti Mandhana was near-unstoppable across those three games, posting scores of 58, 117 and 125. The one time she was dismissed for less than a hundred, she was run out after a calamitous mix-up with opening partner Pratika Rawal.

Mandhana has since been kept quieter across India's three World Cup games to date, scoring eight, 23 and 23, but the 29-year-old has a knack for finding her best against Australia.

"She's had a lot of success against us in more recent times … I don't want to give away too much, but we'll put some plans in place, and at the end of the day, you've just got to stand at the top of your mark and just execute really well," Australia quick Kim Garth told cricket.com.au on Friday.

The match is a critical one for both teams, with Australia looking to built momentum following their stop-start early phase of the tournament, which included a washout against Sri Lanka, while India will be desperate to hit back after going down to South Africa in a thriller.

Speaking to reporters in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, India spinner Sneh Rana said the recent bilateral series, which saw India go down 2-1 but thrash Australia by more than 100 runs in the second match and the push them in the third, would give them confidence.

In India's favour will be their closer familiarity with the ACA-VDCA ground – in addition to Thursday's game against South Africa, India also held a training camp in Visakhapatnam in the lead-up to the World Cup.

"The confidence is really high," Rana said. "We're going in with a positive mindset, we've been planning really well, and everyone is clear about their roles.

"There's a lot of clarity in the team, so we're definitely positive.

"We've seen Australia’s style for many years, they always play aggressively, but our plans are also clear.

"The camp really helped because we got familiar with the ground conditions, the dimensions, how fast the ball travels which helped our fielding department … also understanding how the pitch behaves after the first innings has been useful."

2025 Women's ODI World Cup

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

Australia's group stage matches

October 1: Australia beat New Zealand by 89 runs

October 4: v Sri Lanka: Abandoned without a ball bowled

October 8: Australia beat Pakistan by 107 runs

October 12: v India, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT

October 16: v Bangladesh, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT

October 22: v England, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT

October 25: v South Africa, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT

Finals

Semi-final 1: Guwahati or Colombo*, October 29, 8:30pm AEDT

Semi-final 2: Mumbai, October 30, 8:30pm AEDT

Final: Mumbai or Colombo*, November 2, 8:30pm AEDT

All matches to be broadcast exclusively live and free on Prime Video.

Click here to read article