After two back-to-back victories against Pakistan and West Indies, the Women in Blue suffered a defeat against England at St George’s Park. They got beaten by 11 runs in their group match against cricket inventors. After winning the toss, Harmanpreet Kaur opted to bowl first which did not go in favor of the Indians.
England After batting first, scored 151 in their 20 overs, thanks to Nat Sciver Brunt for a splendid fifty under pressure. Also, wicketkeeper Amy Jones scored 40 off just 27 deliveries with the help of three boundaries and two maximums.
India, on the other hand, started off well but lost wickets at regular intervals. Shafali Verma went cheaply off just 8, also Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet couldn’t contribute this time. They went back to the pavilion for just 13 and 4 respectively.
Ireland, so far, had a terrible tournament with losses in all three games they played. They lost their first match against England, followed by Pakistan and then West Indies. The Irish women are out of the tournament but would like to finish the World Cup in style by beating Harman & Co.
What have they done so far?
The Indian women are at the second spot in the points table with two victories out of three games. They got the better of Pakistan and the West Indies but lost the battle against England due to the latter’s brilliant bowling performance. Sophie Eccleston and Sarah Glenn really made it tougher for India in the recent encounter.
On the other hand, Ireland showed intent in their last match against West Indies but unfortunately, they lost in the last over. They scored 137 in their 20 overs, thanks to Orla Prendergast for her 61 off 57. Her effort went in a losing cause as Windies achieved the target in the 20th over with a brilliant effort from Hayley Matthews, who scored an unbeaten 66 off just 53 balls.
Before this game, Ireland was ordinary in their last two battles against England and Pakistan. Now, the match against India would be their final game to prove their worth and they would like to finish off things on a high note.
Head to Head Record
Both India and Ireland have been a part of the T20I game just once where Indian women became victorious in November 2018. This is going to be a great chance for Ireland to level up the record, also ending the tournament on a positive note.
Key Players
Harmanpreet Kaur: Indian captain Kaur has been ordinary with her batting so far in the tournament and would like to end her drought of runs in the match against Ireland. The Indian captain scored just 4 runs in the last match against England whereas she batted well against West Indies with 33 off 42 balls.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will look to gain some momentum against the Irish team
Harman has been stupendous in her captaincy so far keeping in mind her changes in the fielding setup and bowling. Now, a win against Ireland can take them through to the first spot if England lost to Pakistan by a big margin. Her team has almost qualified for the knockouts and would like to end the group campaign on a good note.
Orla Prendergast: With 109 runs in three matches, Prendergast has been good for her side but due to a lack of support, her team is done with the tournament. The right-handed young batter would want to end the tournament with another good knock against a good bowling attack in India.
This would undoubtedly make any difference to the results of the World Cup but would be great for her personal record going forward. In future, the 20-year-old would surely go on to be a big player for Ireland.
Predicted XIs
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur ©, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shikha Pandey, Deepti Sharma. Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadhav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh
Ireland: Amy Hunter, Gaby Lewis, Orla Prendergast, Leah Paul, Arlene Kelly, Mary Waldron(wk), Laura Delany ©, Eimear Richardson, Louise Little, Cara Murray, Jane Maguire
Prediction
Harmanpreet & Co. would surely have an upper hand in this encounter with the team they have. India would like to finish the group matches on a high whereas Ireland could prove to be an underdog in this game. They played their last game with sheer confidence but lost it to West Indies.
However, keeping in mind the present performance, India has an upper edge against Ireland.