The hosts would look to win another battler after defeating the visitors in the ODI series 2-1. On the other hand, India recorded their maiden victory of the ongoing tour in the final ODI, and hence they would be confident to take on England in the first T20I.
Pitch report:
So far, only one T20I has been played at this venue between England Women and West Indies Women back in June 2019, where the English side won by 42 runs after defending 180. The last match held at Northampton was a T20 Blast game between Northamptonshire and Durham, where the home team won by 30 runs after scoring 173. The trend says that it has been a high-scoring ground and batting first is an advantage here.
Head to Head record:
Matches played: 19 | England Women won: 15 | India Women won: 4 | Tied: 0 | No result: 0
Playing Combination:
England Women
Danielle Wyatt is set to feature in the playing XI after she missed out to play in the ODI series. Wyatt would be looking to go big as she hasn’t scored a fifty in international cricket since December 2019. Heather Knight will, as usual, captain the side with Katherine Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone leading the bowling attack.
ENGW XI: Heather Knight (c), Danielle Wyatt, Tammy Beaumont, Natalie Sciver, Amy Jones (wk), Sophia Dunkley, Anya Shrubsole, Katherine Brunt, Sarah Glenn, Natasha Farrant, Sophie Ecclestone.
India Women
After registering victory in the final ODI, India will be looking to carry forward the momentum by repeating the performance in the T20I series opener. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was a major disappointment in the 50-overs leg; therefore, she needs to find her lost form to help India dictate terms.
Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma will open the innings while Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, and Poonam Yadav shall lead the bowling attack.
INDW XI: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey.
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