India face strong New Zealand in Women's T20 World Cup Group A clash

The New Zealand women's cricket team after a practice session before the India match. Photo Credit: Twitter handle @WHITE_FERNS

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur's team is flying high after defeating four-time champion Australia followed by the victory over Bangladesh in ICC Women's T20 World Cup Group A matches. The Indian women cricket team's two wins in as many matches have propelled it to the top spot in the group and the Women in Blue now await New Zealand, also known as White Ferns, in their third league match on Thursday (February 27, 2020) at Melbourne. The match starts at 9:30 am Indian Standard Time.

New Zealand, too, scored a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their first Group A match and are currently number two behind India.

The winner of the India and New Zealand ICC Women's T20 World Cup Group A match will take the top spot and if the former clinch a victory, it will take them a step closer to a place in the semifinal of the tournament. The top two teams from Group A and B will qualify for the last four.

In both the league matches, the Indian bowlers have contained the opposition batswomen with legspinner Poonam Yadav being the top draw. Some Indian batswomen particularly 16-year-old Shafali Verma has shown great application and aggression on the field. Shafali's 17-ball 39 against Bangladesh and her 29 against Australia along with the sensible batting of 19-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues have been a big plus for Harmanpreet Kaur's team.

The captain and some othe big names have not really fired and the team management would be hoping they would regain their form soon. Opener Smriti Mandhana, who was rested against Bangladesh due to fever, will most probably be back in the playing XI against New Zealand strengthening the Indian batting line-up.

While Deepti Sharma and Veda Krishnamurthy have been steady, the bowlers have done their job to perfection till now. Poonam Yadav has taken seven wickets in the first two matches and pacer Shikha Pandey has troubled the opposition while picking five so far.

But New Zealand are no pushovers and just like their men's team, they have a better head-to-head record against India in recent years. New Zealand have won the last three matches between the two sides. Exactly a year back, they had beaten the Indian team 3-0 in a three-match T20 International home series.

India will, however, remember their massive 34-run win against New Zealand in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2018 in the West Indies. Harmanpreet had struck a memorable 103 to lead her side to victory. New Zealand have some top class players in their ranks in the form of captain and all-rounder Sophie Devine and top-order batswoman Suzie Bates while pacer Lea Tahuhu and leg-spinner Amelia Kerr will lead the bowling department.

They will go into this match on a high after an easy seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday. Devine had led her side from the front with an unbeaten 75 off 55 balls at the top of the order in that win.

India Team: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Harleen Deol, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Richa Ghosh, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar.

New Zealand Team: Sophie Devine (captain), Rosemary Mair, Amelia Kerr, Suzie Bates, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Katey Martin (wicketkeeper), Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Rachel Priest, Lea Tahuhu.