England Women vs India Women, 1st T20I Preview & Predictions

• India have played few T20I games in the recent past
• England named a 14-member squad for the T20I series
• Sneh Rana set to play her first T20I since 2016

England Women vs India Women Odds

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England Women vs India Women Predictions

England Women’s record in T20I cricket in the last year or so has been clinical. They are yet to lose a T20I game since the end of the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup. The Heather Knight-led side have a commanding head-to-head record against India Women. They have won 15 T20I encounters while India Women have won just four.

Predicted XI

England: Danni Wyatt, Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight (c), Natalie Sciver, Amy Ellen Jones (wk), Sophia Dunkley, Katherine Brunt, Sarah Glenn, Anya Shrubsole, Sophie Ecclestone, Mady Villers

India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh/Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy/Simran Bahadur, Poonam Yadav

How to Watch England Women vs India Women

England Set to Complete Hat-Trick of Bilateral Series Wins

There is all to play for in this multi-format series as the action now moves to the shortest format after the one-off Test and the three ODIs. England Women currently lead this series 6-4. Two ODI wins have given them four points and the Test match draw added two more points in the kitty. Meanwhile, India Women have won just one ODI and they have points from the drawn Test match.

England have been in supreme form in the shortest format of the game. Since the 2020 edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup ended, they have played two bilateral rubbers and they won both convincingly. In fact, they whitewashed their opponents. West Indies have brushed aside 5-0 at home before New Zealand were beaten comprehensively 3-0 in New Zealand. The batting seems to have fared quite well, but it is the England bowling attack that has stood up and delivered almost every single time.

On the other hand, this is only the second T20I assignment for India since they made it to the final of the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup. They lost to South Africa at home (1-2) earlier this year. India’s batting just hasn’t been able to put up big scores. The bowling has blown hot and cold too, but it is the batting that needs to force the pace, especially while batting first.

India are too dependent on their openers to get the big scores with the likes of Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Deepti Sharma not really set the stage on fire and their batting form has been a cause of concern. The inclusion of an in-form Sneh Rana could boost the middle and lower middle-order.

Team News

England have named a 14-women squad for the three-match T20I series. Kate Cross and Lauren Winfield-Hill are the ones that miss out from the ODI squad. Meanwhile, Danni Wyatt regains her place after being dropped from the Test and ODI squads. Mady Villers also returns to the England T20I side. Meanwhile, there are a few fresh faces coming into the Indian squad as well. Richa Ghosh and Harleen Deol were a part of India’s T20I plans earlier this year. Simran Bahadur who played all three T20Is against South Africa is also included in the squad. Sneh Rana makes a return to the side, having last played in the format in 2016.

Key Players

Shafali Verma: Shafali Verma had a sedate start to her ODI career but she has been absolutely magnificent in T20Is. She is the No. 1 ranked T20I player on the ICC Batting Rankings for Women. Ever since she has made her debut, Verma has invariably given India some blistering starts at the top of the order. She has played 22 T20Is and has scored 617 runs at an average of 29.38 and a stunning strike rate of 148.31. The 17-year-old Indian opener was the leading run-getter across both teams in the T20I series against South Africa. She will be key to India’s batting plans in this series once again.

Sophie Ecclestone: Sophie Ecclestone has been bowling beautifully in the last few years. The left-arm spinner has been very consistent for England in white-ball cricket. She has played 42 T20Is and has returned with 61 wickets at an economy of 5.82 in her career. She is the No. 1 ranked T20I bowler in the ICC Bowling Rankings for Women. In England’s last two T20I assignments, she picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 4.93 and has been in top form this season.