India vs England, ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 final, preview and likely XI: A battle of nerves at Lord’s

India and England lock horns for the ICC Women's World Cup final at Lord's.

England had finished at top after the round-robin stage. They had beaten all teams but India. Riding on Smriti Mandhana and Punam Raut’s 144-run stand, India managed 281 for 3. Their bowlers then complimented the batting unit and throttled England at 246 all-out.

Both teams will now meet at Lord’s to pull the curtains down on ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.

“We don’t play at Lord’s that often but when I last played here, the slope wasn’t really in my mind,” said India captain Mithali Raj ahead of the last lap. However, she further disregarded the slope and shed light on the nature of the track instead. “It looks full of runs and any venue where you’ve scored runs previously always gives you confidence. It gives you confidence, but you have to have that focus and put in the work to score your runs.”

If that is the case, England clearly have the advantage given their run rate of 5.79 is superior to India’s 4.72. Barring the massive 281 in 42 overs in the semi-final against Australia, India often failed to inch up their scaling rate in death overs. For that matter, England would have to dish out a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur who blasted 171* off 115 in the same match.

In fact, Former England captain Nasser Hussain has a few words of wisdom for his countrywomen. “My only advice to captain (Heather) Knight would be not to bowl spin when Kaur comes in because she absolutely smacked it against the Aussies at Derby on Thursday. Keep her quiet and England should be in business,” Hussain wrote in his column for Daily Mail.

Even if England keep a tight leash on Harmanpreet, India have Veda Krishnamurthy who had smacked 70 off 45 against the might of New Zealand bowling. If not her, wicketkeeper Sushma Verma, and all-rounders Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey have the knack of using the long handle to devastating effect.

Likely XI for India: Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Sushma Verma (wk), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

England, meanwhile, are no less. Their batting depth was quite evident in the semi-final.

Likely XI for England: Lauren Winfield, Tammy Beaumont, Sarah Taylor (wk), Heather Knight (c), Natalie Sciver, Fran Wilson, Katherine Brunt, Jenny Gunn, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole

“I think England will win the final, but I’ve been wrong to write off India before in this competition. I hope it’s an exciting game that’s fitting of a Lord’s final and the amazing tournament we’ve witnessed so far,” former England player Charlotte Edwards wrote in a column for ICC.

She is right by all means. England are well-versed with the conditions, and have the home advantage. India, on the other hand, can stage a surprising performance as well. Although they lost to South Africa and Australia in the league matches, they have been clinical otherwise. And their victory against England at Derby will be a psychological advantage.

India have taken 66 wickets compared to England’s 56, with spinners taking 62 per cent of scalps. If the wicket is dry, Indian spin trio – Deepti, Poonam, and Rajeshwari – will look to exploit the rough patches. However, rain is expected to play spoilsport. And if that is the case, the conditions will favour the seamers. Although England have a good bunch of them, Jhulan and Shikha bowled snorters in the semi-final when the dark clouds loomed over.

England batters vs Indian spinners. England pacers vs Indian lower-middle order. Mithali vs Anya Shrubsole. Natalie vs Jhulan. There will be battles within the battle, and whoever holds their nerves better will emerge victorious.

While England know what it takes to run the victory lap, India will eye their maiden ICC title.

“There might be a lot of changes back home if we go on to win the World Cup, and those changes will benefit the future generations,” said Mithali.

Squads

India Women: Mithali Raj (c), Sushma Verma (wk), Nuzhat Parween (wk), Harmanpreet Kaur, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Veda Krishnamurthy, Smriti Mandhana, Mona Meshram, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma

England Women: Heather Knight(c), Sarah Taylor (wk), Lauren Winfield, Tammy Beaumont, Natalie Sciver, Fran Wilson, Katherine Brunt, Jenny Gunn, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole, Alex Hartley, Georgia Elwiss, Danielle Hazell, Beth Langston, Danielle Wyatt

Time: 10:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST

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