Mumbai, Feb 21:
The aggressive Harmanpreet Kaur’s injury-forced absence is likely to be felt but a confident Indian women’s cricket team will look to make the home advantage count when it squares off against England in a three-match ODI series starting here tomorrow.
Fresh from a decent outing in New Zealand, where the team won the ODIs but were blanked 0-3 in T20 Internationals, the Indian team continues its ICC Championships engagements.
The team has to hold on to its position in the top-four of the world rankings till 2020 to get direct qualification for the 2021 World Cup.
All the three matches will be played at the Wankhede Stadium and India would be firm favourites. The Mithali Raj-led outfit had beaten England 2-1 the last time the visitors were here, in 2018.
Raj, whose position in the T20 squad has created quite a bit of controversy in the past few months, is still at the top of her game in the 50-over format. The 36-year-old became the first woman cricketer to play 200 ODIs for India during the tour of New Zealand a few weeks back.
However, the hosts will miss her regular deputy and T20 captain Harmanpreet, who was ruled out of the entire series with an ankle injury. She has been replaced by Harleen Deol.
Although Harmanpreet was off-colour during the series against New Zealand, she remains crucial for India in its new-found aggression.
But ICC’s woman cricketer of the year Smriti Mandhana and the young and sprightly Jemimah Rodrigues can be banked upon to provide the requisite spark. Mandhana, especially, was in top form in New Zealand and would be aiming to continue the fine run.
The team has had middle-order issues in the past and newly-appointed coach W V Raman would be keen to sort those out. (PTI)
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