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The Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton is all set to host the second One-Day International (ODI) of the ongoing three-match series between England Women and India Women on Wednesday (June 30).
Team India would be looking for a comeback after a disappointing show in the series opener. The hosts completely dominated the game and defeated Mithali Raj and Co. by eight wickets. One of the major reasons behind India’s terrible performance was their slow batting.
India consumed 181 dot deliveries en route to a below-par total of 201 runs, which England chased down comfortably to take a 1-0 lead.
On the other hand, the home team would be looking to win the second match to capture the series early.
Pitch report:
The surface at Taunton is generally good for batting, but pacers also get a bit of assistance due to the conditions. The last game played at this venue was between Somerset and Hampshire of the ongoing T20 Blast 2021, where medium-pacers had an impressive outing.
Head to Head record:
Matches played: 70 | England Women won: 38 | India Women won: 30 | Tied: 0 | No result: 2
Playing Combination:
England Women:
England had a terrific game in the first ODI, and it’s highly unlikely that the hosts would look to change their winning combination.
ENGW XI: Heather Knight (c), Lauren Winfield Hill, Tammy Beaumont, Natalie Sciver, Amy Ellen Jones (wk), Sophia Dunkley, Katherine Brunt, Sarah Glenn, Sophie Ecclestone, Anya Shrubsole, Kate Cross.
India Women:
India will be looking to work out on their run-rate and the strike-rates of some senior batters. Also, players like Harmanpreet Kaur needs to step up to gain India’s chances of bouncing back in the series.
Meanwhile, senior pacer Jhulan Goswami has defended the batters and gave hints regarding the probability of changes in the playing XI. Goswami said players would make a comeback, and it’s not fair to write off the visitors based on just one game.
“Well, it’s just the first match. The day before yesterday was her [Shafali Varma] debut; you cannot expect so much from her. That’s the impact she has had. They [Punam Raut, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur] just need one good knock among them. Then definitely, we’ll be on a great platform. These things happen in cricket,” said Goswami as quoted by Cricbuzz.
INDW XI: Mithali Raj (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Ekta Bisht.
