England Women vs India Women 2nd T20I prediction: Who will win today's match?
After losing the first T20I in Northampton, India Women will lock horns with England Women in the 2nd T20I of their 3-match series in Hove. To ensure that the final T20I does not become a dead rubber, the Indian women's cricket team will have to bring their 'A' game to the table in the upcoming match.
However, the odds will be stacked against them because they will be up against a team that is on a nine-match winning streak in the shortest format of the game. The England women's cricket team has continued their winning form in the T20I arena.
After recording clean-sweeps against New Zealand and the West Indies, England began the series against India with a victory. The home side will look forward to securing another T20I series win by beating the Women in Blue in Hove.
England Women vs India Women: Who will come out on top in Hove?
Looking at the recent form of both teams in the shortest format of the sport, England Women will start as the favorites to win the Hove T20I. As mentioned above, the English side have won nine consecutive T20I matches, and only an extraordinary performance from the Indian women's cricket team can deny them their tenth straight T20I victory.
India Women will rely heavily on the duo of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana in the batting department. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's struggles with the bat have continued on the England tour while Harleen Deol, who took a marvelous catch in the first T20I, will have to score runs at a faster rate.
Smriti Mandhana played a good knock of 29 runs in the first T20I. She smashed six boundaries in her 17-ball innings. However, her opening partner Shafali Verma could not open her account. The duo of Verma and Mandhana will have to fire on all cylinders to ensure that India Women gain the upper hand in the Hove T20I.
Shikha Pandey performed exceptionally well with the ball, but the likes of Arundhati Reddy and Deepti Sharma leaked runs at an expensive rate. Reddy conceded 31 runs in her three overs while Sharma returned with figures of 0/38 in her four overs. Even Radha Yadav had an economy rate of 11 in the first game.
India Women did manage to keep opposition skipper Heather Knight quiet in Northampton, but the trio of Danni Wyatt, Nat Sciver and Amy Jones took the game away from the visitors. Their brilliant batting guided England Women to a total of 177/7 in 20 overs.
For India Women to win this match, the opening pair will have to score big and the bowlers will have to fire in unison. The Women in Blue have the capability to end the England women's cricket team's winning streak in T20Is. It remains to be seen if Harmanpreet Kaur's side can pull off a win in Hove.
Looking at the two teams' performances in Northampton, many would feel that England Women will take an unassailable lead in the series by winning the next match.
Prediction: England Women to win