After securing a win and two points in the first One-Day International against England last Friday, India (14) has jumped to the second position behind Australia (20) in the ICC Women’s Championship standing.
The 66-run win was fashioned by the bowling department, but the batting unit showed vulnerability.
Once Smriti Mandhana fell to a shot she must have regretted playing, India slipped from 69 for no loss to 95 for five before captain Mithali Raj and Tanya Bhatia carried out the repair work.
No change likely
Without the injured Harmanpreet Kaur, India struggled to get going.
But there is no reliable replacement for the experienced middle-order bat from Punjab and hence India would probably take the field without effecting any change in the team sheet.
“We have to work on the middle overs and on partnerships. When we can score 200 with just two partnerships, if another couple of batters score runs, that would be a good score on this wicket,” said Mithali after the team’s practice session on Sunday.
England’s leading seam bowler Anya Shrubsole believes that her team has the wherewithal to turn things around.
“We have shown resilience in the last 18 months,” she said.
Tricky decision
When asked if England would choose to bat, should it win the toss in the second ODI, Shrubsole said: “It’s a tricky toss decision with a 9 a.m. start.
There is dew and the new ball swings around. But then, on the other hand, the pitch helps the spinners later.
“We had prepared really well for the (opening) game. We know how the wicket is going to play.
“We are just going to do a few things better in the second game.” she said.
The teams (from):
India: Mithali Raj (Capt.), Jhulan Goswami, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wk), R. Kalpana (wk), Mona Meshram, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Punam Raut and Harleen Deol.
England: Heather Knight (Capt.), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Georgia Elwiss, Alex Hartley, Amy Jones, Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Lauren Winfield and Danielle Wyatt.
Match starts at 9 a.m.
