Will Mandhana-led India defeat England in the first T20I?

Maithilee Shetty

03 Mar 2019

New Update

R Kalpana returns to India squad for England series after three years — Amy Jones (England)and Smriti Mandhana (India). ©ICC

Preview: India vs England – 1st T20I

Date: 4 March 2019

Venue: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati

India will come into T20I series with a sense of confidence as a revamped new side will take on England in the T20I series. Many fresh faces have been included - Bharti Fulmali, Harleen Deol and Komal Zanzad. Led by Smriti Mandhana, it will be crucial to see how leadership will affect the Indian star. India will look to defeat England to avenge the ICC Women's T20 World Cup semi-final loss.

Ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 to be held in Australia, India would like for their T20 side to gain momentum. During the New Zealand series, India had lost all three matches which exposed many shortcomings. Therefore, in this series, India will look to establish a solid side incorporating many youngsters.

On the other hand, England will look to get accustomed to the subcontinental conditions in the shorter format. The key would be the batting as Guwahati is considered a batting friendly and high scoring wicket. England hasn’t had a successful tour until now, as they lost the ODI series 2-1 and also their lead spinner Sophie Ecclestone had to return due to injury with Alex Hartley replacing her. None of the batters except Nat Sciver have got going in the India conditions.

Key Players

Bowlers:

Poonam Yadav (India)- Poonam Yadav is ICC Ranking No. 2 T20 bowler. She has 72 wickets in her kitty and two four-wicket hauls. From her debut in 2013, Yadav has been consistent. Although her numbers against England aren’t good, she will look to improve them and cost England few important wickets in the upcoming T20I.

Anya Shrubsole (England)- The ICC Ranking No. 5 T20 bowler is full of experience. She has 81 wickets in T20I and is the lead bowler in the squad. She has two four-wicket haul and one five-wicket haul.

Batters:

Danni Wyatt (England)- Wyatt played a match-winning knock in the final ODI. She will be seen opening the inning in the T20I. She has two centuries under her belt and also 46 wickets. Her highest score of 124 is against India with a strike rate of 151.18. Although her highest score of the year 2018-19 in the T20I has been mere 43, she would look to making it better.

Jemimah Rodrigues (India)- This 18-year-old, ICC Ranking No. 2 T20 batter has proven to be volatile. In 22 matches, she has scored 593 runs including five half centuries. Having made her debut in 2018, she has climbed up the ICC Rankings ladder pretty quick and efficiently.

Numbers to look out for- India has lost 4 of their last 5 T20I matches played against England.

Probable XI

India: Smriti Mandhana (capt), Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Komal Zanzad, Poonam Yadav

England: Tammy Beaumont, Danni Wyatt, Amy Jones (wk), Natalie Sciver, Heather Knight (c), Sophia Dunkley, Georgia Elwiss, Katherine Brunt, Anya Shrubsole, Linsey Smith, Alex Hartley

Mithali Raj Anya Shrubsole Laura Marsh Lauren Winfield Tammy Beaumont Amy Jones Veda Krishnamurthy Katherine Brunt Natalie Sciver Jemimah Rodrigues Deepti Sharma Anuja Patil Radha Yadav Georgia Elwiss Shikha Pandey Ekta Bisht Poonam Yadav kate cross Sophia Dunkley Freya Davies Linsey Smith Harleen Deol Arundhati Reddy Taniya Bhatia (wk) Heather Knight (c) Komal Zanzad Danni Wyatt and Alex Hartley Bharti Fulmali Smriti Mandhana (capt)