Published: Jun 24, 2017, 01:34 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 24, 2017, 10:16 PM (IST)
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live cricket updates of the second match of ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. I am Vishal Mehra, and I will bring all the lives updates of the high-octane contest between Indian Women and England Women, at Derby. India Women may not have won the title, but they have a captain who is the second-most run-scorer and a pacer who has the most wickets in women’s cricket. Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami will play a pivotal role in the flagship tournament in the pursuit of winning their first ever title. England, on the other hand, are used to emerging triumphant in this flagship tournament. They have won it thrice and finished runners-up as many times.
Good news for England Women is the return of Sarah Taylor, their wicketkeeper-batsman who had taken an indefinite break after the 2016 WT20 due to stress. Her return will only bolster England’s ammunition. Meanwhile, Heather Knight is back in the pink of her fitness after sustaining stress fracture in April. All in all, England look quite dominant to get the better of India Women. That said, Raj has a team that can give a tough time to the hosts.
Given the way conditions and tracks panned out in ICC Champions Trophy 2017, not much swing will be witnessed as the ball ages. India, for that matter, have a spin quartet – their best suit – in Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav and Deepti Sharma. Although England too have a spin quartet, the Indian Women – class-apart and wristy – are excellent players of spin. If England are to stay ahead, their pacers will have to dent India’s top order.
Squad
India: Mithali Raj (c), Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Smriti Mandhana, Mona Meshram, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Nuzhat Parween (wk), Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Sushma Verma (wk)
England: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Georgia Elwiss, Jenny Gunn, Alex Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Beth Langston, Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor (wk), Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danielle Wyatt
