After going 0-2 down in the five match T20I series, hosts England fought back as they stole victory from the jaws of defeat to pull off an incredible heist that saw them take a 5 run win at The Oval.
Moving to Manchester, hosts England still are on the backfoot while Harmanpreet Kaur’s girls have a chance to seal the series. Ahead of the fourth T20I between the England women and Indian women, here’s our match preview and predictions.
The visitors have been solid with the bat for most of the series except the slight choke they had at the end of the third T20I which saw them fall short by five runs. Smriti Mandhana has been at her imperious best while the returning Shafali Verma has found form as they games go by as well. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who missed the first game due to injury, finally got going in the last game but was unable to get her team across the line. The lower middle order of Richa Ghosh and Amanjot Kaur have also added runs under their belt with the batting unit looking like it’s getting better with each game. India’s bowling led by Arundhati Reddy, has been causing all sorts of problems for the hosts, especially the slower bowlers. Shree Charani has been a thorn in the side for the hosts while Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav have kept a check on the runs and chipped in with wickets regularly.
After keeping themselves alive in the series, hosts England were dealt with a big blow as their skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt was ruled out for the rest of the T20I series due to a groin strain. Tammy Beaumont will stand in as captain for the rest of the series. Beaumont along with Sciver-Brunt was one of the few batters who have gotten some runs for the hosts in the series with the opening pair of Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge finally finding form together in the previous game. Beaumont, though, will expect her batting unit to step up together after collapsing from 137-0 to 168/8 in the previous game. Lauren Bell has been England’s standout bowler, being economical and amongst the wickets and will need the experienced likes of Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean to step up.
The Old Trafford ground hasn’t seen much women’s white-ball cricket in the recent past but the ground is known to have some assistance for the bowlers, especially the slower ones and the Indian spinners have already caused a lot of trouble to the hosts this series and will hold the upper hand once again. Without their captain and with a struggling batting line-up, England will be on the backfoot with India as the favourites to seal the series in Manchester.
Fantasy XI: Smriti Mandhana, Sophia Dunkley, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Harmanpreet Kaur, Tammy Beaumont, Deepti Sharma, Emily Arlott, Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Bell
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
Winners Prediction: India
A confident and swaggering Colombia face DR Congo knowing that victory will be enough to…
Switzerland will face co-host Canada in their last group stage encounter of Group B on…
World Cup contenders Portugal will clash with newcomers Uzbekistan in their second group stage game…
World Cup contenders England will look to ensure qualification with a win against African opponents…
A supremely confident France side will fancy their chances of getting the three points that…
World Cup debutants Jordan will face African opponents Algeria in their second group stage game…