Southampton: Riding high on confidence after scripting a historic T20I series win over England, the Indian women’s team will aim to carry the momentum into the three-match ODI series, beginning here on Wednesday.
The ‘Women in Blue’ made history by clinching their first-ever T20I series against England, taking the five-match series 3-2. Now, with the ODI World Cup on home soil later this year, Harmanpreet Kaur and her team will be keen to fine-tune their 50-over game.
India won their last ODI assignment — the Tri-series against Sri Lanka and South Africa — in May. A series win here would further boost their preparations and morale ahead of the global showpiece.
India have tweaked their approach in recent years, placing greater emphasis on posting totals in excess of 300. In the Tri-series they had scores of 276, 275, 337 and 342.
“In the ODI cricket we’ve been playing for the last couple of years, we’ve always focused on scoring more than 300 with the bat,” skipper Harmanpreet said.
“It gives the bowlers some cushioning. Earlier we had five bowling options, and it becomes slightly tough if we have only so many runs on the board. Recently, like in the T20Is, we went for four spin options. I think somewhere that has helped,” she added.
Young opener Pratika Rawal finds herself ahead of the seasoned Shafali Verma once again. Rawal impressed in the Tri-Series where she etched her name in the record books by becoming the fastest batter to reach 500 runs in women’s ODIs.
With a power-packed batting line-up featuring skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, finisher Richa Ghosh, and dependable anchors Jemimah Rodrigues and Harleen Deol, India’s top and middle order looks formidable.
Add to that the lower-order hitting prowess of Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur, and India have the firepower to out-bat most sides.
However, the bowling unit will once again be tested in the absence of frontline pacers Titas Sadhu, Renuka Singh, and Pooja Vastrakar — all sidelined due to injuries.
The pace attack will be led by the experienced Arundhati Reddy, with support from Kranti Goud and all-rounders Amanjot Kaur and Sayali Ganesh.
India are well stocked in the spin department. The left-arm duo of Sree Charani and Radha Yadav will shoulder responsibilities alongside seasoned off-spinners Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma, both of whom offer control and guile in the middle overs.
Meanwhile, England will be bolstered by the return of two key players. Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, who missed the last three T20Is due to a groin strain, is back to lead the side.
World No. 1 ODI bowler Sophie Ecclestone also returns after a lengthy layoff due to a knee injury which forced her out of the West Indies series in May.
Teams (from):
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Shuchi Upadhyay, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare.
England squad: Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Alice Davidson-Richards, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith.
Match starts 5:30pm IST.
