The Big Picture

After securing a 2-1 win over the World Champions in the recently concluded ODI series, Team India will look to carry their form in the shortest format of the game when they take on England in the first T20I on Monday.

Unlike the 50-over format, things haven't been hunky-dory for the Women in Blue in T20I cricket. Following their heartbreaking exit from the World Twenty20 last year, courtesy England, they proceeded to suffer the ignominy of a 0-3 whitewash at the hands of the White Ferns' last month.

The failure of the middle-order has been the nemesis for the Indian side and as we saw in the New Zealand series, it squandered the good start given by Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues. With a new skipper at the helm in Smriti Mandhana, it will be interesting to see the make-up of the Indian batting unit. The return of Veda Krishnamurthy will certainly bolster the middle-order, but the real question is- Will Mithali Raj get a place or at which position will she bat in the playing 11? 

England, on the other hand, shrugged off their indifferent form and registered a consolation win in the last ODI to avoid the series whitewash. The 2018 World T20 runners-up have a formidable unit at their disposal. The likes of Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones will look to get some runs behind them after a disappointing series while Dani Wyatt, Heather Knight, Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt, will once again look to carry their good form from the ODI series.

In the end, as in the ODI series, it will be a battle between England's batters and India's balling, and also how the Indian middle-order fares under pressure, and whoever comes out trumps will go on to win the series.

Venue- Baraspara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati

Match Timing:- Monday, March 04, 2019, 11:00 AM IST

What to expect?

As you would expect for a T20I, the track at the Baraspara Stadium looks flat and has a plethora of runs in it for the batters.

Squad-