2nd T20I: India Women Aim To Bounce Back Against England

Following their 41-run defeat against England in the first T20I, the India women's team will aim to bounce back in the second match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Thursday. Trailing 0-1, India will be in a must-win situation to save themselves from a series loss. Having lost five matches in a row, India will look to win in order to avoid two back-to-back T20I series loss. India lost 0-3 against New Zealand previously and the onus of batting will once again be on captain Smriti Mandhana and veteran Mithali Raj in the absence of regular T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

Mithali, who is likely to retire from the shortest format before the World Cup, would like to get some runs under her belt in the second T20I after scoring just seven in the first.

The batting failed in the first rubber with the lower order stemming the rot. The likes of Shikha Pandey (23 not out), Deepti Sharma (22 not out) and Arundhati Reddy (18) did get some runs but the ask was far too much for them in the end.

The bowling lacked control too, with the likes of Deepti, Arundhati and Radha Yadav leaking runs.

Medium pacer Shikha Pandey (1/18) and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav (0/18) were economical but they would need support from their colleagues to keep the England batters at bay.

England are the in-form side with Tammy Beaumont (62 off 57), skipper Heather Knight (40 off 20) and Danielle Wyatt (35) looking good in the last game. The visitors, who produced an all-round show, would like to continue their dominance in the second match too.

Squads:

India: Smriti Mandhana (Captain), Mithali Raj, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Bharti Fulmali, Anuja Patil, Shikha Pandey, Komal Zanzad, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurty, Harleen Deol.

England: Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Sophia Dunkley Brown, Freya Davies, Georgia Elwiss, Amy Ellen Jones, Heather Knight (Captain), Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Linsey Smith, Lauren Winfield, Danielle Wyatt, Alex Hartley

(With IANS inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Women England Women Smriti Mandhana Mithali Raj Heather Knight Cricket