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ENG W vs IND W | 1st T20I: With momentum by their side, Indian eves aim to level all-format series

Abhishek Singh

The Indian eves managed to snatch a narrow victory in the last ODI of the three-match series. With that, they also achieved two crucial points and got to four points, two behind hosts England who were at six points at the end of the ODIs. 

Part of an all-format series between the two sides, the three T20Is have six points up for grabs and if India Women manage to win the series 2-1, they will level with the English side at right points each and if they are able to clean sweep, they can even win the series comprising of a Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. The Test had four points up for grabs which were shared by the two teams while the white-ball formats had two points for each game. 

But for India to either level or win the series, they would have to play out of their skins. The main reason for this statement is the absence of Mithali Raj, India's skipper and the leading run-scorer for the Women in Blue during the ODI series. Apart from her, no other batter was able to get a hang of English bowling. 

The T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on the other hand has had a horrible tour so far, unable to get in the mix either with the bat or ball in hand. However, vastly experienced Kaur knows that she is just an innings away from getting back into form. Acknowledging that she promised in a pre-match virtual press conference that a different approach from her would be on display during T20Is. 

The team would also look to utilise the form of Sneh Rana with both bat and ball. In fact, Harmanpreet indicated that Rana alongside young Richa Ghosh would work as finishers for the team late in the batting order. 

When it comes to England Women, they gave got in-form Danni Wyatt back in the squad alongside spinner Mady Villiers to go with horses for course approach as they removed Kate Cross and Lauren Winfield-Hill respectively. 

With all to play for, the two teams would look to use this opportunity to battle it out as well as to try and test their squad in similar conditions before the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where T20I has been included for the first time. 

England Women vs India Women: Match Details

Match No.- 1st T20I

Date and Time: July 09, 2021, 11:00 pm IST, 05:30 pm GMT and 06:30 pm Local

Venue: County Ground, Northampton

Broadcast and Livestream in India: Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV

Pitch Report

The pitch in Northampton usually favours the batters and is one of the high scoring grounds. However, in six T20Is, all the matches have been won by teams batting first, suggesting that there will be something for the spinners later in the second innings. 

Weather Forecast and Toss

While there are 25-30% chances of rain, the ground would mostly be covered by clouds hovering above and making the temperature a bit chilly. Although it's a batting track, risking rain and hence the Duckworth Lewis system wouldn't be a wise choice. Hence field first might be the preferred option. 

Team News

England Women

The English Women would be forced to make at least two changes from the team that played the last ODI as both Cross and Winfield-Hill are not in the squad. 

Wyatt and Villiers thus would naturally fit into the squad. However with Sarah Glenn being there already, Villiers might have to make way for Tash Ferrant, or England could be brave enough and play three front line spinners. 

The one choice that skipper Heather Knight would be making involved experienced Anya Shrubsole and emerging quick Freya Davies. While Davies has been in good nick, Shrubsole hasn't looked her lethal best so far. Sophia Dunkley would once again fancy her chances to let loose as soon as possible. 

Probable XI

Tammy Beaumont, Danielle Wyatt, Heather Knight(c), Natalie Sciver, Amy Ellen Jones(wk), Sophia Dunkley, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Natasha Farrant/Mady Villiers, Freya Davies 

India

For India, it would involve plenty of changes with Harleen Deol, Simran Dil Bahadur, Radha Yadav and Ghosh making it to the team and Mithali, Jhulan Goswami and Taniya Bhatia walking out.

Indrani Roy might be ignored once again as the team is looking to play Ghosh as a wicketkeeper-batter. 

Probable XI

Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues/ Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Simran Bahadur 

Dream XI / Fantasy XI team

Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana (c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Natalie Sciver (vc), Amy Ellen Jones(wk), Sophia Dunkley, Sneh Rana, Sophie Ecclestone, Poonam Yadav, Freya Davies  

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