A win away from a first cricket medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022, India Women won the toss and elected to bat against England at the Edgbaston Cricket Stadium, Birmingham on Saturday.
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India come to the semifinals game after defeating Barbados by 100 runs. Jemimah Rodrigues, who was promoted to number three, played a vital 56-run knock. Against England, Harmanpreet Kaur and co will look to put up an all-round show.
“We are going to bat first. It’s a fresh track and it’s going to remain the same throughout the game. Before the main game, everyone is performing. It’s right time to perform for the team. Our bowlers are doing well. I am really happy with the way they are bowling,” India Women’s skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said at the toss.
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England Women, on the other hand, have defeated Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa in CWG 2022 so far.
“I was happy to bowl first anyway. We’ve been good at adapting. (On Hayley Jensen’s swing bowling) It’s a skill she’s had for 3-4 years. We are on a roll, high on confidence, in our batting and bowling,” Natalie Sciver said at the toss.
“We are an evolving team and processes and plans will change. We are trying to get the best out of them,” India coach Ramesh Powar said on the eve of India’s semifinal against England.
“We felt Jemi is ready for this as she has been playing in England for a while. We thought we will take a chance on her,” he added.
Teams:
England Women (Playing XI): Danielle Wyatt, Sophia Dunkley, Natalie Sciver(c), Amy Jones(w), Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Freya Kemp, Issy Wong, Sarah Glenn
India Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Taniya Bhatia(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh
