'We can beat Australia any day' - Harmanpreet Kaur voices confidence in her team ahead of ODI series

Harmanpreet Kaur sounded confident about her team's chances of beating Australia in the upcoming three-match ODI series, which will be the perfect dress rehearsal ahead of the 50-over World Cup. The first ODI takes place at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur in New Chandigarh on Sunday, September 14. Meanwhile, the World Cup gets underway on September 30.

The Indian skipper said that while Australia have had a good set-up for many years, her team has worked hard and improved in the last year and a half. She feels that India have been able to bridge the gap with Australia in terms of fielding and fitness standards.

"We are a team that has worked hard throughout the year and are improving day by day. But Australia have had a good set-up for some years now, and they have been dominating for some years now. We have just come into that race, and have done well in the last one to one-and-a-half years. We were working hard [to beat them before]. But now, we have worked a lot on fielding and fitness, and results are starting to show," Harmanpreet was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

While Harmanpreet admitted that Australia have dominated world cricket for quite some time, she backed her team to get the better of the Women in Yellow on any given day. The right-handed batter also asserted that players know their roles in the team, and that has given them a sense of belief that they can produce positive results against the best teams in world cricket.

"No doubt, they [Australia] have been very dominating, they have played well all over the world and dominated. But we are also as a stage where, as a captain, we have the belief we can beat them on any day. The processes in the last one-and-a-half years have been good, we have improved quite a lot. Even in England, we beat one of their best sides. These show that we are on the right track. This group of players has played together for a while now. Everyone knows what they need to do for the team. There is belief that we can beat any team on any day, which is very important. If you have the belief, the results follow," Harmanpreet said.

This is the most stable Indian team I've seen: Alyssa Healy

Australia captain Alyssa Healy feels that this is the most stable Indian team she has seen in her career. The wicketkeeper-batter admitted that beating India in their home conditions isn't going to be an easy task for her team.

"It feels like to me in the women's game, India's been a bit of a sleeping giant for a long period of time and probably haven't had the stability that I think they do right now. They're a really dangerous side and I think they're fully aware of that and what they can do to other teams. We watched them go to England and play some really good cricket and challenge a really good side," Healy said.

"This is the most stable Indian team I've seen and I think they're in a really good place heading into this World Cup so I'm looking forward to that challenge and like you said, the rivalry continues to grow. I know how much they love beating Australia and I know how good they are in their home conditions and that's really a challenge for us. I think it's going to be a really enjoyable, hard-fought series," she added.