ICC Women's World Cup Final, India vs England: Face Off
The Indians would be cock-a-hoop at the moment after two back-to-back victories and would be looking to clinch their first title while England, who are no pushovers, would like to believe that they are favorites to win the coveted trophy.
- Posted by Abhishek Mahajan
- Updated: July 23, 2017 11:53 AM IST
Highlights
- India stunned Australia in the 2nd semi-final
- England will go into the Sunday final as favorites
- India have already beaten England once in the tournament
An upbeat India would look to get the better of England when the two teams meet in the final of the ICC Women's World Cup on Sunday. India, coming off a massive win against New Zealand to secure a place in the semi-final, did their chances no harm after sending the defending champions Australia home on Thursday. The Indians would be cock-a-hoop at the moment after two back-to-back victories and would be looking to clinch their first title while England, who are no pushovers, would like to believe that they are favourites to win the coveted trophy. The toss of the coin on Sunday will spring a series of battles within a battle as Mithali Raj and Heather Knight would look to outdo each other.
Captaincy contest (Mithali Raj vs Heather Knight): While Mithali is far more experienced as a captain than Heather, who only took over in 2016, the England skipper has a brilliant record. She has captained England in 19 matches, out of which she has won 16 and lost 3. Mithali, on the other hand, has captained India in 108 matches out of which she has won 67 and lost 38.
In a match as big as the final, stats will hardly have a bearing on the outcome as strategies, mind games and performance will take centre-stage. The Indian skipper has had a great tournament so far, having scored 392 runs in 8 matches at an average of 49.00, her counterpart is not too far behind either. Heather has scored 363 runs in as many matches at an average of 51.85.
Both the captains have led the way for their respective teams with the bat in hand and would look to seize the early initiative in the summit clash at Lord's.
Gunn battle (Harmanpreet Kaur vs Jenny Gunn): Sunday's final will also see India's Harmanpreet Kaur gearing up to take on Jenny Gunn of England. Harmanpreet had a quiet tournament in the group stages. Barring one fifty against New Zealand, she was not quite her usual self but she exploded against Australia in the last match and can be a major threat for England.
Harmanpreet's 171 saw the Aussies chasing leather for most part of the innings and if she gets going against the hosts, it will tilt the match in favour of the Indians in no time.
England might use their most experienced bowler Gunn to counter Harmanpreet. With only five wickets to her name, Gunn has had a poor tournament so far, going by her standards but she is a proven customer, having taken 128 wickets in 138 matches. She is the highest wicket-taker for England in one-day internationals and her record speaks for herself. Gunn might just be England's answer to Harmanpreet in the big stage.
Spin and tumble (Deepti Sharma vs English middle-order): While India's batting has come good in most of the matches, their bowling has been equally impressive. Leading the pack is Deepti Sharma who is also India's highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Deepti has picked up 12 wickets in 8 matches and has inflicted maximum damage to the opposition with her right-arm off-breaks and England must be well aware of that.
With the likes of Tammy Beaumont and Sarah Taylor topping the batting charts for England in the tournament, this can turn out to be a great contest. Deepti will not be afraid to toss the ball up and get some purchase out of the track and both the English openers will have to use their feet to counter the spin.
With the much experienced Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey taking the new ball for India, it will be up to the Indian spinners to put the brakes on the scoring in the middle-overs. The team which has control over the proceedings in the middle-overs is likely to come on top on Sunday.