2nd WT20I: Confident India eye another win over England
What's the story
India will be looking to continue their winning momentum in the second Women's T20I of the five-match series against hosts England. The match is scheduled to be played at Bristol's County Ground on July 1. The Indian team is banking on opener Smriti Mandhana's exceptional form and hoping for regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur's availability after she missed the first match due to a head injury. Here we present the preview of the game.
Pitch
How will the pitch behave?
The track at the County Ground in Bristol is likely to offer some seam movement to the fast bowlers early on. With cloudy overhead conditions, the pacers will try to utilize the moisture in their favour. However, the pitch will become better for batting as the game progresses. As per Cricbuzz, chasing teams have won seven of the 13 T20Is here as the average first innings score reads 166.
Match impact
Mandhana's century and debutant Shree Charani's 4-fer
Mandhana's maiden T20I century in the first match at Nottingham helped India secure a massive 97-run win. The innings would have raised concerns in the English camp, especially after their batting collapse while chasing a daunting 210-run target. Indian bowlers took full advantage of England's batting woes, with left-arm spinner Shree Charani taking four wickets on her T20I debut. Owing to the same, the hosts were folded for 113.
Team dynamics
India's well-knit unit despite missing top seamers
Despite missing their top seamers Renuka Singh Thakur and Pooja Vastrakar due to injuries, India looked like a well-knit unit. Harleen Deol's promotion to No. 3 paid off as she shared a 94-run partnership with Mandhana for the second wicket. This bilateral white-ball series also offers a great opportunity for India's young players to acclimatize themselves to English conditions ahead of next year's Women's T20 World Cup in the UK.
Match analysis
How Indian bowlers fared in the 1st match
England's batting collapse under pressure from Mandhana's innings was thoroughly exploited by Indian bowlers. Though England skipper Natalie Sciver-Brunt fought back with a lone battle scoring 66 runs, the rest of the team struggled against disciplined Indian spin attack. Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav also chipped in with a couple of wickets each, further cementing India's dominance in the first match.
Information
Here's the head-to-head record
On England soil, India have won five of their 13 WT20Is against the home team, as per ESPNcricinfo. The other seven games have gone in England's favor. Overall, England have won 22 of the 31 WT20Is against India, while losing just seven.
XIs
Here are the probable XIs
England (Probable XI): Sophia Dunkley, Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones (wk), Alice Capsey, Sophie Ecclestone, Em Arlott, Lauren Filer, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell. India (Probable XI): Smriti Mandhana (c), Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol/Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Shree Charani.
Stats
Here are the key performers
The century in the opener was Mandhana's 8th fifty-plus score in 22 matches against England. She owns 836 runs against them at 41.80 (SR: 141.69). Charani's impressive 4/12 placed her second on the list of best bowling figures by an Indian on WT20I debut. in 18 WT20Is against India, Nat Sciver-Brunt owns 534 runs at 33.37. Sophie Ecclestone owns 65 WT20I wickets at home at an economy of 6.55.
Poll
