ICC Women's World T20: India's chance at redemption
India face-off against the English team in what promises to be an exciting rematch of last year's 50 over World Cup final. In the ICC event in 2017 at Lord's, the Indian women came agonisingly close to lifting the trophy but stumbled in the final few moments of the game. Under the leadership of Harmanpreet kaur, they would like to correct last year's mistakes.
Momentum with the Indian team
Analysing the two teams' performances in the World Cup so far, the Indian girls seem to be ahead of their English counterparts being undefeated in the tournament. On the other hand, England faced defeat against defending champions West Indies in their final league match. Though with the likes of Danielle Wyatt, Tammy Beaumont, Natalie Sciver, and Sophia Brown, the Indian bowlers will have challenges in front of them.
The clinical approach shown by the Indian team has been pleasing to watch, especially their performance against the strong Australian side. The comprehensive manner of victory against the Aussies, in a clash that was termed by many as a mini semifinal of sorts, was reassuring of India's dominance in this format.
Incidentally, India have won last 7 of their T20 clashes, a record they would love to extend in the next two games.
Analysing India's chances :
#1 The return of Mithali Raj, who missed out India's last league game, is sure to boost the confidence of the Indian team. Mithali brings a sense of calm at the top, and her return would definitely help Smriti Mandhana and others to freely play around her. Also, the experience that she brings would only add to skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's armory.
#2 India's strong batting lineup, without an over-dependence on a single player, is the sign of a formidable side. The current Indian team has one of the strongest batting lineups with the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodriguez, Harmanpreet Kaur along with Mithali Raj, India's top four looks quite solid.
Though Hemalata and wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia have shown glimpses of their quick scoring abilities, the team would be hoping that the lower middle order comes good sooner rather than later.
#3 Taniya Bhatia's strong performance behind the wickets has been a boon to the Indian side. With the Indian wrist spinners finding conducive conditions, Bhatia has a good opportunity to add to her already impressive tally behind the wickets.
#4 Indian spinners pose a threat to the English batters. Traditionally England have never been strong players of spin. Coach Ramesh Powar would definitely be looking to spin a web around the English batters, with in-form spinners Poonam Yadav, Radha Yada, and Deepti Sharma in the ranks.
India's chance of redemption at the world stage:
The Indian team would surely have sore memories of the last time they faced the English side in the World Cup, having lost in the final moments of the game. It was one such game where the Indians had a decent stranglehold on the match but succumbed to the nerves at the final hurdle.
With exposure to the Big Bash T20 league and strong performances in the last one year, the current Indian team, with just the perfect blend of youth and experience, would definitely look to grab this opportunity and step closer to world cup glory