ENG-W vs IND-W: 1st T20I Preview – India eye a winning start

After the hosts England clinched the three-match ODI series 2-1, they will be up against India for as many T20Is, the first of which gets underway on July 9 at the County Ground, Northampton.

While hosts dominated India in the first two ODIs, the latter staged a comeback in the final rubber to avoid a clean sweep. Mithali Raj, who recorded a hat-trick of half-centuries in the series, is not a part of India’s short-format setup, with captaincy duties now resting with Harmanpreet Kaur.

#TeamIndia captain @ImHarmanpreet is confident of getting back to form with the bat in the T20I series against England 💪 💪#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/Ta6x38EdU1

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 8, 2021

Shafali Verma, the current No. 1 batter in ICC WT20I rankings, who has made both her Test and ODI debuts on this tour, will be India’s key alongside her opening partner Smriti Mandhana, and skipper Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues in the middle-order.

After drawing the Test and clinching the ODIs, Heather Knight and Co. would be keen to close the tour on a high, also given their dominant 15-4 win-loss record in the shortest format against India.

Match Info

Match: England Women vs India Women, 1st T20I

Dates: July 9, 2021

Time: 5:30 PM IST

Venue: County Ground, Northampton

Team News

England

The host camp has some able performers in the format, including Tammy Beaumont, who shone brightly recently in Test and the first ODI, and currently ranked No. 1 T20I bowler Sophie Ecclestone. England has recalled Dannielle Wyatt while both Kate Cross and Lauren Winfield-Hill did not make the cut. Sophia Dunkley has made a promising start to her international career and this series is her chance to establish herself as an all-format player.

Predicted XI: Danielle Wyatt, Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight (C), Natalie Sciver, Amy Jones (wk), Sophia Dunkley, Anya Shrubsole, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Freya Davies

India

Jemimah Rodrigues has not had the best of the tours so far and she would want to lend support to openers Verma and Mandhana. India is likely to play both spinners Radha and Poonam Yadav alongside pacers Pooja Vastrakar and Shikha Pandey.

Predicted XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav