The last time India and England met, rain played a spoilsport. The rain God stuck its head out again in the first T20I between the two sides on Friday at Northampton. Winning the toss and electing to bowl first, India restricted England to 177-7 in 20 overs and in reply, the Women in Blue were reduced to 54-3 before it started pouring. The match ended in England’s favor as the hosts won by DLS method, being 18 runs ahead of India.
How good was Natalie Sciver with the bat? 🔥🔥#ENGvIND #ENGWvINDW pic.twitter.com/oq4pfzN9wl
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 9, 2021
The only positive from Team India was the fielding effort which saved them some crucial runs. Harleen Deol’s stunning catch to dismiss Amy Jones also became viral for all good reasons.
Out of 10, how much would you rate this epic catch by Harleen Deol? ❤️🇮🇳#ENGvIND #HarleenDeol pic.twitter.com/E07ptipieP
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 9, 2021
Points
England has 8 points in the multi-format affair to India’s 4. India can draw the series if they win the remaining two T20Is. The second of the three-match T20I series will be played on July 11 at Hove. Here’s the match preview for the 2nd T20I:
Squads
India: Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Indrani Roy (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Simran Bahadur
England: Fran Wilson, Danielle Wyatt, Heather Knight (c), Sophia Dunkley, Natalie Sciver, Amy Ellen Jones (wk), Katherine Brunt, Mady Villiers, Tammy Beaumont (wk), Freya Davies, Sophie Ecclestone, Natasha Farrant, Sarah Glenn, Anya Shrubsole
Probable playing XI
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav
England: Tammy Beaumont, Danielle Wyatt, Heather Knight (c), Sophia Dunkley, Natalie Sciver, Amy Ellen Jones (wk), Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Freya Davies, Sarah Glenn, Mady Villiers
Players to watch out for
Radha Yadav: The 21-year old left-arm spinner has established herself in the shortest format. She is on a 27-match streak picking up at least one wicket every game. On Friday during the first T20I, she dismissed opening bat, Danielle Wyatt. Apart from her bowling, she contributed a lot in the field saving a lot of runs in the point region.
Natalie Sciver: The 28-year old is undoubtedly one of the best all-rounders in the world. Scoring the fastest T20I century for England women during the first T20I at Northampton, the right-hand bat has continued to stretch her purple patch into the T20I series as well. Her powerful stroke-making, including back foot, pulls and punches were a treat to watch on Friday. England will expect her to contribute again with both bat and ball for the rest of the series.
Head to head Stats between India and England in T20Is
India and England have played 20 T20Is against each other now. With 16 wins, England clearly dominates this duel. India, though has just four wins, are a better team than the number suggests. Having lost the first T20I, the remaining two T20Is of the series are a must-win for the Women in Blue if they have to draw this multi-format affair.
Weather update at the County Cricket Ground, Hove for 11th July 2021:
🌡️ 18°C
🌧️ 20% chances of Rain.
🥵 81% humidity
💨 10 km/h
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
