Women’s T20 World Cup: India will need their game against England

After being under pressure in their last two matches, India will have no room for error when they take on a formidable England in the Women’s T20 World Cup on Friday. A win against world number two England on Friday will effectively take the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side into the knock-out stage, which will take on the top two teams from Groups I and II. More than a solid six-wicket win against the West Indies earlier this week. While the two wins put India in a strong position to qualify for the semi-finals, it was the brilliance of hard-working teenager Richa Ghosh who pulled off the ‘Women in Blue’ on both the occasions.

The top order will have to give a better account of itself against England. Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Shafali Verma has so far failed to convert her starts in the tournament, losing her wicket at crucial junctures.

Smriti Mandhana, who is back after recovering from a finger injury, looked in great touch as she timed the ball but could not go for much distance.

Jemimah Rodrigues will be looking for some consistency while skipper Kaur has also looked in good touch and made useful contributions, though she has not scored big so far with a top score of 33.

He will have to navigate England’s spin trio of Charlie Deane, Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn.

While the bowling department did a much better job against the West Indies, the Indian bowlers will have to fire their way against England, who have teenager Ellyse Capsy coming into the match full of confidence after suffering a joint injury. Fastest fifty in Women’s T20 World Cup history.

Pooja Vastrakar has been impressive, sharing new-ball duties with Renuka Singh, while the ever-reliable Deepti Sharma bowled brilliantly against the West Indies at the death.

The fielding has also been poor, with miss-fields and dropped catches leading to some stellar performances. India cannot afford complacency against England who are bound to make any mistakes.

On the other hand, title favorites England, like India, are unbeaten after two matches and are in the best position to qualify for the semi-finals.

On the same score as India (0.590), Heather Knight & Co lead the group owing to a better net run rate of 2.497.

A mix of youth and experience is doing the trick for the former champion with the likes of Capsey and Lauren Bell supporting the experience of Knight, Nat and Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Danny Wyatt.

India:Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Jemima Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Sarwani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gaikwad and Shikha Pandey.

England:Heather Knight (c), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Lauren Winfield-Hill and Danny Wyatt.

The match will start at 6.30 pm Indian time.

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