India-W eye victorious start against England-W in curtain-raiser of T20I series

After a brief hiatus, the Indian women are all set to rock and roll again as they face a daunting opposition in England for a three-match T20I series in home conditions. A long road for the Women in Blue kickstarts from today as they will be in action against England in the shorter form of the game followed by a one-off Test, before they host Australia for another one-off Test and subsequently three ODIs.

India’s last major assignment ahead of their bilateral engagement against England was the Asian Games that saw Harmanpreet Kaur and company bag gold, defeating Sri Lanka in the final. 

England will be coming to this battle on the back of an emphatic conquest against Sri Lanka in both ODIs and T20Is. Knowing the reckoning force they are, the Heather Knight-led side will want to make another solid statement, specifically considering India won the last ODI series played between these two teams.

India will be bolstered by the return of their superstars as the squad features all the senior players, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. The RCB representation is also strong in this unit as the squad features Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Renuka Singh and the exciting all-round duo of Kanika Ahuja and Shreyanka Patil.

England will be spearheaded by another RCB star, Heather Knight, while their core will consist of Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey, Sophie Ecclestone and Nat Sciver-Brunt, names synonymous with glory in women’s cricket.

This is going to be a battle of epic proportions as two fierce forces hope to duke it out with a lot at stake, as a means of starting on the path to next year’s T20 World Cup. It is going to be a roller-coaster ride to kickstart proceedings at Wankhede.

Venue Watch:

Wankhede has always been a batting featherbed and over the years, it is a proven fact, the team chasing will have an added advantage with dew coming in. Unless there is a miraculous shift in the tide of affairs, the team chasing will try and restrict their opponents somewhere between 160 to 170 following which smart batting should ideally get the job done.

Head to Head:

Matches played: 27

India – 7

England - 20

Match Details:

Match – India Women vs England Women

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Date: 6th December, 2023

Time: 7:00 PM

Squads:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Pooja Vastrakar, Kanika Ahuja, Minnu Mani.

England: Danielle Wyatt, Alice Capsey, Sophie Ecclestone, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Heather Knight (captain), Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Mahika Gaur, Bess Heath, Amy Ellen Jones, Lauren Bell, Freya Kemp, Sarah Glenn, Danielle Gibson, Maia Bouchier.