India, Aug. 11 -- It took a little bit of nudging after which India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana picked out their contest against holders Australia as the one that will get her team truly going in the Women's ODI World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka from September 30 to November 2.

The nod from captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who was seated next to her in the event held here on Monday to mark the 50-day countdown to the tournament, showed how focused the co-hosts already are. No one knows the stage better than Kaur and what it is to tame the formidable Australia, having played one of the great ICC ODI World Cup knocks - a swashbuckling 171 in 2017 that helped India trounce Meg Lanning's team in the semi-final.

In many ways, India's w...