England: Having clinched a three-match ODI series 2-1 against England, the Indian women cricket team will look to continue their winning momentum when they take on the visitors in the opening T20I of the three-match series in Guwahati on Monday.
Here are the live updates:
# 20 runs off the first two overs. Deol gets off the mark by scoring a single off the very first delivery, while Mandhana also opened her account by edging the fourth delivery from Sciver to third man for one run. India 20/0 (2 overs)
# Smriti Mandhana and Harleen Deol to begin India’s chase. Sciver to open England’s attack.
# England set a 161-run target for India!
# Wicket! India have bagged two quick wickets to reduce England to 157/4 after 19.3 overs. After Reddy was smashed by Knight for four boundaries, Deepti Sharma provided a big relief to India by removing the England skipper for 40. Subsequently, Beaumont stepped out to loft a Poonam Yadav delivery over cover as Bhatia made simple stumping. England 157/4 (19.3 overs)
# England 124/2 (17 overs)
# Wicket! Radha Yadav strikes for India. Sciver tossed up delivery from outside off straight to square leg and Poonam Yadav did not miss the opportunity to take a simple catch. England 103/2 (14 overs)
# Natalie Sciver comes to bat for England!
# Wicket! Shikha Pandey has provided a much-needed breakthrough to India by removing Wyatt for 35. Pandey delivered a length ball outside off and Wyatt slapped it straight to Mandhana at extra cover. A big relief for India. England 93/1 (12 overs)
# England 82/0 (10 overs)
# 21 runs off the last two overs. Wyatt (37) and Beaumont (21) are looking rock solid at the crease as they have brought up a 50-run stand for the opening wicket. Arundhati Reddy bowled the most expensive over of the match so far as she conceded 14 runs to England, including three boundaries, before Poonam Yadav gave away another seven runs in the next over. England 66/0 (8 overs)
# Runs are flowing in at a good pace for England as they have added 17 runs in the last two overs. Wyatt (20) and Beaumont (18) are looking settled at the crease and are smashing the Indian batsmen with boundaries. The Women in Blue are desperately looking to break their partnership. England 45/0 (6 overs)
# An expensive over from Deepti Sharma as she gave away 14 runs in the fourth over. Sharma was smashed by Wyatt for back-to-back boundaries before the England opener pulled back another four runs after edging the fifth delivery towards the third man. England 28/0 (4 overs)
# England 14/0 (3 overs)
# Pandey bowled a tight first over for India, conceding seven runs to England but only one came off the bat. Wyatt got off the mark when she guided Pandey’s fifth delivery of the first over wide of short midwicket for a single. England 7/0 (1 over)
# Danielle Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont to begin England’s innings while Shikha Pandey will open the attack for India.
# The two sides have walked down the crease for the national anthems!
# Lineups:
India: Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana (capt), Veda Krishnamurthy, Mithali Raj, Arundhati Reddy, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav
England: Tammy Beaumont (wj), Danielle Wyatt, Heather Knight (capt), Lauren Winfield, Natalie Sciver, Linsey Smith, Sophia Dunkley Brown, Katherine Brunt, Anya Shrubsole, Alex Hartley, Kate Cross
# India win the toss and opt to bat first against England!
The India women’s team will aim to finalise a core group of players ahead of the T20 World Cup early next year when it takes on England in a three-match series starting on Monday. The hosts have been doing well in the 50-over format but they have plenty to ponder about in the shortest form of the game, having lost their previous series in New Zealand 0-3.
The whitewash in New Zealand came after a historic win in the ODIs and India will be hoping to reverse that trend with the T20s against England. India defeated them 2-1 in the preceding ODI series in Mumbai.
Harmanpreet Kaur has not yet recovered from an ankle injury and in-form opener Smriti Mandhana will captain the side in her absence, providing her with an opportunity to prove her calibre as a leader.
The southpaw continues to plunder runs, having scored two successive half-centuries in the ODIs against England. She was also in sublime touch in New Zealand last month.
In Harmanpreet’s absence, senior player and ODI captain Mithali Raj is expected to play a bigger role in the three T20Is. Mithali was dropped for the first two games in New Zealand before she scored an unbeaten 24 which did not prove to be enough.
The 36-year-old is likely to retire from the shortest format before the T20 World Cup in Australia next year and it remains to be seen how her experience will be used against England.
There will also be focus on Veda Krishnamurthy, who has made a comeback after being left out due to her below-par performance in the 2018 World T20, where India lost to England in the semifinals.
Harleen Deol and Bharati Fulmali too will be itching to prove themselves after replacing Priya Punia and D Hemalatha in the squad.
Left-arm pacer Komal Zanzad, who has replaced Mansi Joshi, is in line to make her international debut. Shikha Pandey will lead the pace department in an otherwise spin-heavy bowling attack comprising of five specialists.
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(c), Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Linsey Smith, Lauren Winfield, Danielle Wyatt, Alex Hartley.
Bureau Report
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