Mithali Raj & her team face a stiff challenge as they gear up for historic D/N test against Australia

Australia women test captain Meg Lanning and India women test captain Mithali Raj at the Metricon stadium ahead of the first ever D/N test between the two teams on Wednesday. Image Source: Twitter

Xtra Time Web Desk: Indian women’s cricket team led by Mithali Raj will play their first ever Day Night test against Australia starting from Thursday at the Metricon stadium in Gold Coast. The Indian team will be high on confidence having won the final ODI at Mackay.

It will be a daunting task for the Indians as they will be short on practice with the pink ball. Jhulan Goswami and co have had only two practice sessions with the pink ball. The squad has very little idea about how the shiny pink ball will behave during the course of the game at the Metricon Stadium.
Australia, who played their lone day-night Test in November 2017, also go into the game with limited practice but their potent pace attack will be looking forward to wreaking havoc at the greenish pitch here.

India did well in their first Test outing in seven years, drawing against England in June, but the players and experts believe the skiddy pink-ball will pose a much tougher challenge for the visitors.
India and Australia last played a Test in 2006 with only Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami featuring in that game among the current players on both sides.

India will be handicapped by the absence of star batter Harmanpreet Kaur. Rookie batter Yastika Bhatia and pacer Meghna Singh, who made impressive debuts in the ODI series, could be handed their maiden Test caps.
Veteran Jhulan Goswami, Meghna and Pooja Vastrakar is the likely pace combination. Spinner Sneh Rana is likely to be the other all-rounder in the side alongside Deepti Sharma.
Wicket-keeper Taniya Bhatia, who was pipped by Richa Ghosh in ODIs, is expected to be back behind the stumps.
Punam Raut, who featured in the England Test and has lost her place in the ODI, is expected to play.
Australia, on the other hand, have been dealt a blow ahead of the game with vice-captain Rachael Haynes ruled out due to a hamstring injury.