Mount Maunganui: India take on defending champions England in their fourth game of the ICC Women’s World Cup at Mount Maunganui on Wednesday (March 16).
The Mithali Raj-led side have won two out of three games so far. England, meanwhile, will be hoping to put in a better performance after losing out all three games thus far in the tournament.
India Women head into this rematch of the 2017 World Cup final on the back of a 155-run win against West Indies, where opening batter Smriti Mandhana and vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur posted 123 and 109 respectively.
“If you look at the overall record, we started the last World Cup also with a win over England. It is all about the momentum and that is with us right now. It is important for the team to stay in this moment and not to think about the past,” said Harmanpreet Kaur during the pre-match virtual press conference.
Harmanpreet is currently on a brilliant run of form, notching up a fifty and a century in her last two games.
“I always want to give my best whenever I go out there in the middle. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t. The best thing for the side was to play in an ODI series in New Zealand before the World Cup. It got us the momentum and helped us get used to these conditions,” said Harmanpreet.
“It is important to stay relaxed and enjoy the moment. I believe enjoying the game helps you perform better,” she added.
The 33-year-old further spoke about how the team will tackle the defending champions.
“For us it is important to focus on the way we performed in the last match. We have identified small areas we need to improve after the last game and instead of England’s weakness we’ll concentrate on our own team,” she said.
India Squad: Mithali Raj (Captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav.
England Squad: Heather Knight (C), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Nat Sciver (VC), Anya Shrubsole, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt.
