India will look to capitalise on opener Smriti Mandhana’s red-hot form and hope for captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s availability as it aims for back-to-back wins in the second Women’s T20I against England, to be played here on Tuesday.
Mandhana’s maiden T20I century in the opening match at Nottingham powered India to a resounding 97-run victory. Her knock is likely to have rung alarm bells in the host’s camp, especially after England’s dramatic batting collapse in pursuit of a steep 210-run target.
A prolonged training camp in Bengaluru, followed by an early arrival in England and a couple of tour games, appears to have helped the visitor ease into the rhythm of the shortest format.
Despite missing two of its premier seamers — Renuka Singh Thakur and Pooja Vastrakar — due to injury, India barely put a foot wrong in Nottingham.
The decision to slot Harleen Deol at No. 3 proved effective, as she stitched a 94-run partnership with Mandhana to lay the foundation for a big total.
This bilateral white-ball series also serves as valuable preparation for India’s young players, helping them acclimatise to English conditions ahead of the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in the UK next year.
The match is scheduled to begin at 11:00 p.m. IST.
MATCH SQUADS
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Sayali Satghare, Deepti Sharma, Kranti Goud, Arundhati Reddy, Shree Charani, Radha Yadav.
England: Natalie Sciver-Brunt (c), Tammy Beaumont (wk), Sophia Dunkley, Amy Jones (wk), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Paige Scholfield, Em Arlott, Lauren Bell, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Linsey Smith, Issy Wong.
(with inputs from PTI)
