ICC Women's T20 World Cup: India's campaign starts against New Zealand
The Indian women's cricket team is set to begin their campaign in pursuit of their first-ever T20 World Cup title. They will face New Zealand in their opening match in Dubai.
The Indian women's cricket team is set to begin their campaign in pursuit of their first-ever T20 World Cup title. They will face New Zealand in their opening match in Dubai. The match is scheduled to start at 7:30 PM IST. Harmanpreet Kaur and her team are confident of replicating their recent successes against West Indies and South Africa in the warm-up matches. The only concern for India is the fitness of all-rounder Sreyash Patil and wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia.
Also read: Explained: How India can qualify for blockbuster WTC final 2025 following Bangladesh Test series win
Asha Shobana and Sajana Sajeevan are the two players from Kerala in the Indian squad. If captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shefali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Hemalata, Radha Yadav, and others perform to their potential, India will be in a strong position.
India suffered a surprise loss to Sri Lanka in the Asian Cup final in July. Nevertheless, Harmanpreet and Co. got the better of West Indies and South Africa in their two warm-up games earlier this week.
The New Zealand women's team, on the other hand, will be looking to bounce back from their slump in form, having lost their last 11 competitive matches. The toss will be crucial as dew might play a role in the evening match.
Indian Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shefali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Yastika Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Dayalan Hemlata, Asha Shobana, Radha Yadav, Sreyash Patil, Sajana Sajeevan.
India is placed in Group A along with New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Group B consists of South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, and Scotland. The highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash is scheduled for October 6 in Dubai.
The ICC women's T20 WC started on Thursday (October 3), with Bangladesh defeating Scotland by 16 runs in the opening match. Meanwhile, in the other match of the day, Pakistan prevailed over Sri Lanka by 31 runs.
Also read: ICC Women's T20 World Cup: All you need to know