Toss Ireland chose to bat vs India

India have a stand-in skipper in Smriti Mandhana to helm the team in Harmanpreet Kaur’s absence due to a niggle. Batter Tejal Hasabnis, who sat out of all three ODIs against West Indies late last month, comes in for Harmanpreet.

The series holds massive significance for Ireland, for whom game time is paramount as they will feature in the World Cup qualifiers later in the year. They’ll bank on the experience of Lewis and Delany, the only two players to have previously had any playing experience in India.

For India, this series will offer game time for a number of fringe players, such as Pratika Rawal who made an excellent first impression as an opener in her debut series against West Indies.

All three ODIs will be played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, which is hosting women’s ODI cricket for the first time.

India: 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Pratika Rawal, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Jemimah Rodruiges, 5 Tejal Hasabnis, 6 Richa Ghosh, 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Sayali Satghare, 9 Saima Thakor, 10 Priya Mishra, 11 Titas Sadhu

Ireland: 1 Sarah Forbes, 2 Gaby Lewis, 3 Una Raymond-Hoey, 4 Orla Prendergast, 5 Laura Delany, 6 Leah Paul, 7 Christina Coulter Reilly, 8 Arlene Kelly, 9 Georgina Dempsey, 10 Freya Sargent, 11 Aimee Maguire