India's top-order batter Priya Punia missed the third and final ODI of the series against Australia due to a knee injury. Punia was not available for selection for the third ODI at the WACA Ground, Perth on December 11.
"Ms Priya Punia sustained an injury on her left knee in the 2nd ODI, at the Allan Border Field. She was not available for selection for the Third ODI," the BCCI said in a statement.
In the previous game, Punia got hurt while fielding and did not come out to bat in the run chase. In her absence, wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh opened the batting with Smriti Mandhana and scored 54 runs from 72 balls.
Earlier, Priya did not perform well in her comeback game. In the series opener, she scored three runs from just 17 balls. She was dismissed Australian pacer Megan Schutt in Brisbane.
Harmanpreet makes two changes
On December 11, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to field first. She made a few changes to the side. Titas Sadhu and Arundhati Reddy made their way into the playing XI. They replaced Priya Mishra and Punia.
It is likely that Richa opens the batting again with Mandhana. India also have the option of sending Harleen Deol or Jemimah Rodrigues to open the innings in the run chase.
India Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Minnu Mani, Saima Thakor, Renuka Thakur Singh, Arundhati Reddy, Titas Sadhu
Australia Playing XI: Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Voll, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney(w), Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath(c), Sophie Molineux, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt
