AHMEDABAD: With less than a year to go for the 2025 ICC Women's ODI World Cup, the three-match ODI series between India and New Zealand staring today at the Narendra Modi Stadium offers a chance for both teams to start preparations for the marquee event.
Coming off a memorable T20 World Cup triumph, New Zealand will be eager to build on the momentum in the ODI format. The Indian team will look to get some confidence back after a horrendous T20 World Cup campaign this month. Unlike the preparation for the T20 World Cup, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur would want her combinations set in the ODI format at the earliest.
While India get automatic qualification for the ODI World Cup by virtue of being the hosts, this series is significant for the White Ferns as only top five teams in the ICC Women's Championship get guaranteed qualification. New Zealand are currently in sixth place.
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine harped on this point on Wednesday. "This is a massive series for us. Qualification points are still on the table. That's our first priority-securing qualification for next year's World Cup. Coming over here is always going to be a challenge.
"We are looking to build on the momentum that we created from the World Cup. We are in a really good position to come here and have some success. I think it's an exciting time for women's cricket. It is a great opportunity for us to make sure we play the style of cricket we are known for," she added.
Devine also pointed out that acclimatising in these conditions with such a short turnaround time from the triumph in UAE will be a challenge for her team.
"We've been in Dubai for the last three and a half weeks, and dare I say, it was warmer in Dubai. So we probably acclimatised really well to the heat, the humidity, and being able to perform. But 50-over cricket is certainly a different kettle of fish in terms of being able to sustain that over six or seven hours throughout the day," she said.
