The T20I tournament opener between India Women and England Women will be held at County Ground, Northampton on Friday. Coming into the T20I leg of the tour, England will be high on confidence, having thrashed India 2-1 in the recently concluded three-match ODI series.
On the other hand, Harmanpreet Kaur-led Team India will gain confidence from their win in the final ODI against England Women. The Women in Blue will hope to continue their winning momentum when they cross swords with similar rivals in the shortest format of the game.
Historically India will enter this tournament as an underdog. However, with the likes of Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, they are very capable of harassing the organization led by Heather Knight.
The Indian women’s cricket team enters the T20 International series against England women from Friday, buoyed by victory in the final ODI, but also worried about the failure of their batsmen, especially skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who has tested positive for COVID-19. The reason is attributed to lack of preparation and injuries for his poor run.
Test and ODI captain Mithali Raj was the lone performer in the ODI series as she scored three half-centuries in three matches, including an unbeaten 75 in the previous match, leading the team to victory. India lost the series 1-2 after losing the first two ODIs.
However, Mithali is not a part of the T20 International squad and openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana along with other bowlers like Harmanpreet have the responsibility to make a total for their bowlers struggling under pressure.
India has played 19 T20 Internationals against England and won only four matches. They have faced defeat in 15. In England they have managed to win only one of the five matches they have played against the hosts.
Harmanpreet blamed the lack of preparation due to Covid-19 and injuries for her failures but said she is looking forward to returning to form in the T20I series.
He scored four and eight in one-sided Tests and one, 19 and 16 in three One Day Internationals.
“I am someone who likes to work hard and train everyday. Due to Covid-19 and injuries, I did not get much time to prepare, but that is no excuse, as I am the one who takes a lot of time on the ground to prepare,” she said.
“Internationally, you can’t just come and take things easily. After five innings I have understood where and how I need to improve. So you will see a different point of view from my side,” Harmanpreet said.
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