After a hard-fought draw in the Test match and an intense ODI series, England and India will now face each other for a 3-match Women’s T20 International series starting on July 9 at the County Ground in Northampton. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur will hope for more success in the shortest format of the game.
Kate Cross and Laura Winfield-Hill, key performers in the ODIs, have not been selected for the T20I series. They will be now feature in the Charlotte Edwards Cup. Instead, the England team management has drafted in Danni Wyatt. With 116 T20Is under her belt and in decent touch in the domestic circuit, Wyatt will open batting with Tammy Beaumont.
The core of the England squad will remain the same as the ODIs. Captain Heather Knight, Nat Sciver, Amy Jones, and Sophia Dunkley form a decent middle-order. They can also opt for young Fran Wilson, who did not get a chance in the ODIs.
The bowling will be spearheaded by Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt, with Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn and Mady Villers being the spin options.
India may rope in youngsters like Harleen Deol and Richa Ghosh. Their batting will again depend on Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana at the top. The form of Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues have plagued India for some time: it is time for them to step up.
India have opted for four spinners in T20I of late. It will be interesting to see if they stick to that and use Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Ekta Bisht, and Deepti Sharma in tandem. Sneh Rana should make the cut thanks to her all-round ability.
Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, and Arundhati Reddy are their seam options. Kaur has hinted that India may choose Ghosh for the wicketkeeper’s role, but with options like Taniya Bhatia and Indrani Roy available, they make think otherwise.
Head to head
England have won 15 matches against India and lost 4. At home, England lead 4-1.
Likely XIs
England Women: Tammy Beaumont, Danni Wyatt, Heather Knight (c), Nat Sciver, Amy Jones, Fran Wilson, Sophia Dunkley, Katherine Brunt, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Glenn, Sophie Ecclestone.
India Women: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Poonam Yadav.
Prediction
England woman to win a close encounter.