India vs Australia, ICC Women's T20 World Cup: Sydney weather, Sydney Showground Stadium pitch report

Image Credits: Twitter/@BCCI

The Indian women's cricket team will look to kickstart their campaign at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's T20 World Cup on a high note when they lock horns with hosts and four-time champions Australia in the opening match of the showpiece event at Sydney Showground Stadium on Friday. 

All-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the 15-member Indian women's squad in the upcoming tournament while Smriti Mandhana will serve as her deputy.

The Women in Blue, who are yet to lift their maiden trophy in the tournament, will head into the opening match following their narrow two-run win over the West Indies in their second warm-up clash of the ICC Women's World Cup at Allan Border Field in Albion. 

Australia, on the other hand, are coming on the back of their four-wicket win against South Africa in a warm-up tie at Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide.

According to Accuweather, the weather in Sydney is expected to be fair, with a high temperature likely to touch 4-degree Celsius while the minimum temperature is expected to reach the 19-degree mark. However, there is a 50 % chance of the area facing rain. 

Meanwhile, the Sydney Showground Stadium is usually used in the Big Bash League (BBL) and the pitch has also been hampered with rains in the past few months, interrupting the matches and reducing the overs-rate. The Stadium is yet to host any Twenty20 International match.

Also know as Spotless Stadium, the Showground pitch is expected to favor both the teams equally. In the 24 T20 fixtures played at this ground, both the team batting first and the team chasing have clinched equal number of wins. The highest score recorded at this ground was 189/3 in 20 overs. 

The two squads are as follows:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Tanya Bhatia, Harleen Deol, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Richa Ghosh, Veda Krishnamurthy, Smriti Mandhana, Shikha Pandey, Arundathi Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shafali Verma, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav

Australia: Meg Lanning (captain), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham