India against New Zealand
Harmanpreet Kaur’s India face New Zealand in Dubai in their first match of the Women’s T20 World Cup.
The match between India and New Zealand is the second of the day today, with South Africa playing West Indies before that.
The second match of the day will start at 7.30pm IST while the first begins at 3.30pm IST. Both matches are being played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and that could have a huge role to play in the conditions on offer for Harmenpreet Kaur’s India.
Venue for the tournament
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Sharjah Cricket Stadium are the two venues that will host the tournament. With this set to be the second match of the day, dew could play a huge role in the tournament. Dubai has hosted five women’s T20Is and the match between India and New Zealand will be the seventh on the ground.
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Performance of both the teams in Warm up Matches
India played two warm-up games and won both matches, beating West Indies by 20 runs and South Africa by 28. New Zealand played beat South Africa by eight wickets in their first warm-up match but then lost to England by five wickets in their second. It is interesting to note that India batted first in both their warm-up matches while New Zealand bowled first in theirs.
Predicted XI
India:Â Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur Singh, Arundhati Reddy
New Zealand:Â Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine(c), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze(w), Lea Tahuhu, Molly Penfold, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr
Players to watch out For
Smriti Mandhana (India):Â The senior Indian opener has been in fine fettle going into the big tournament. Mandhana has been integral to India winning all five of their previous games leading up to the tournament, scoring three half-centuries in this period. India will be banking on the left-handed opener to provide the goods if they are to stand a chance at winning a maiden title.
Shafali Verma (India):Â Mandhana’s opening partner can take the game away from any side on her day. However, consistency has been an issue for Shafali. She has worked on this and her mental game in the months leading up to the T20 World Cup. If it all works, Shafali’s big-hitting increases India’s chances of winning the title exponentially.
Sophie Devine (New Zealand):Â The White Ferns’ captain will be crucial to their cause but Devine would know that they come into the tournament as underdogs due to their horrendous form leading up to it. New Zealand played 13 matches against England and Australia and lost all of them. They have peculiarly decided to move Devine into the middle order, thus separating her opening partnership with Suzie Bates which was among the most prolific of all time in women’s T20Is. Regardless of how the buildup has been, though, the fact remains that Devine’s all-round prowess means that she can win matches almost entirely on her own.
