India Women vs England Women, England Women tour of India, 2019, Today Match Prediction 25 Feb 2019

indw vs engw Match Prediction & Analysis

England and India Women team are gearing up for the second of the 3-match ODI series at the Wankhede Stadium on 25th of February. India Women lead the series 1-0 after beating England women team comfortably in the first ODI by 66 runs. The encounter on Monday will decide if the series goes to the final ODI undecided or will India Women seal the series off before that.

After restricting India Women to a below par 202, England Women would have hoped for an easy victory in the first ODI. However, India Women did not give an inch away in defending the small total. The consistent pressure with the ball and in the field ensured an England collapse of 7 for 25 to hand India a comfortable victory in the end.

The all-important second ODI is coming up. It will be interesting to see any change of tactics from the English team as they look to keep the series alive.

TEAMS PREVIEW

India Women Preview

India Women started the home ODI series with a bang crushing England Women for a paltry 136 in just 41 over defending 202. With this victory, India Women go one up in the series but more importantly, they secured the second spot in the ICC Women's Championship ranking. 

India Women did not look likely to win the game at the half time when they crawled to a below par score batting first. After a decent start of 69 without loss, India Women lost 5 wickets by the time the score reached 95. India felt the absence of Harmanpreet Kaur in the middle order after she was ruled out of the series with the ankle injury. However, thereon Captain Mithali Raj steered the innings to somewhat safety with a crafty 44 and then, Jhulan Goswami’s 30 run cameo helped India cross 200.

In bowling, England still looked to be having the upper hand with 111 for 3 by the 30th over. But a collapse ensued, triggered by Ekta Bisht running Sciver out, which ended at 3-wicket over by player of the match Bisht herself. It will be tough to beat this Indian team that knows how to create and maintain pressure especially at home.

India Women Predicted Playing XI:

Mithali Raj (c), Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Mona Meshram, Deepti Sharma, Ekta Bisht, Taniya Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Dayalan Hemalatha, Poonam Yadav.

England Women Preview

England Women must have been disappointed with their effort in the first ODI. They were in with a golden opportunity to topple the hosts after restricting them to a manageable 202 bowling first. However, their batting collapsed at the crucial moment handing India an easy victory in the end. 

Winning the toss fielding first England pulled things back after a decent opening stand by India. Elwiss, Sciver, and especially Eccelstone restricted India to a below-par score on a slow track. In the chase, however, they had nothing to show except for the 73 run partnership between captain Heather Knight and Nat Sciver. Barring these two, the rest of the team managed just 53 runs among themselves. In the end, Heather Knight was kept stranded at one end from where she watched her team collapse under pressure.

The loss in the first ODI did not help England Women’s chances of automatic qualification for the World Cup 2021 as they continue to be at 7th Rank with 10 points in 10 games. A crucial encounter coming up for England.

England Women Predicted Playing XI:

Heather Knight(c), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Alex Hartley, Amy Jones, Sarah Taylor(wk), Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Danni Wyatt, Georgia Elwiss.

Weather Conditions

The match will be played at the same ground, but maybe on a different surface, as that of the first ODI in Mumbai. It was a two-paced wicket at the Mumbai in the first ODI. The ball wasn't coming onto the bat and was stopping on the batter. India middle-order collapse and a couple of collapses for England were the results of lack of pace on the wicket.

Toss: To Bat

On such wickets, the team winning the Toss should Bat first to make use of whatever pace is available in the wicket. It will be easier to defend later as the pitch gets slower and lower.