England Women vs India Women 2021, 1st ODI: Preview – Pitch Report, Playing Combination & Head to Head record

England Women are ready to face India Women in the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series, starting on Sunday (June 27). The County Ground in Bristol will host the series opener.

Recently, both the sides faced each other in the one-off Test where few debutants showed incredible cricket for India, helping their team to draw the match. They would now be looking to start on a fresh note, registering victory in the first ODI.

Pitch report:

Just a few days ago, a T20 Blast match between Gloucestershire vs Glamorgan took place at this venue, which was a high-scoring affair. If the surface remains similar, then one may expect another high scoring contest.

Head to Head record:

Matches played: 69 | England Women won: 37 | India Women won: 30 | Tied: 0 | No result: 2

Playing Combination:

England Women:

Sophia Dunkley, who recently became the first black woman to play a Test for England, is most expected to make her ODI debut. White-ball specialist Danni Wyatt was not picked for the 50-overs series against India, and Lauren Winfield-Hill will most likely fill her shoes in the team.

ENGW XI: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley, Nat Sciver, Amy Jones (Wk), Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Anya Shrubsole, Katherine Brunt.

India Women:

The Indian team is expected to pick Shafali Verma in the playing XI in order to make her debut in ODI cricket. Shafali impressed one and all in the one-off Test, becoming the first Indian women batter to score a half-century in both innings of her maiden game.

There could be a toss-up for the wicketkeeper’s position between Indrani Roy and Taniya Bhatia.

Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey will lead the pace attack. Sneh Rana, who shined with both bat and the ball during the Test match, is also expected to make her debut in the 50-overs format.

INDW XI: Mithali Raj (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia/Indrani Roy, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey.