Confident India kick start campaign against Bangladesh.
India have won five of their last six T20Is, that includes a series win in Australia.
India have never made it to the final hurdle in the short history of the tournament but given their run of form, and the added bonus of home advantage, this would be their best shot at setting the record straight. Clubbed alongside England, West Indies, Pakistan and Bangladesh each of whom they haven't played since the last edition of World T20 in 2014 the hosts, despite claiming it is a wide open tournament, do start as favourites in their group. Only slightly though, given the fickle nature of the format.
Led by an experienced campaigner like Mithali Raj, India have hardly put a foot wrong in the lead up to the tournament. And the 2-1 series scoreline in Australia followed by a 3-0 blanking of the Sri Lankans at home has only reassured them of their capabilities. If their warm-up games are anything to go by, India, unlike any of the previous seasons, head into the main round as one of the most compact teams.
What: India vs Bangladesh, 1st Match, Group B 3:00 PM ISTWhere: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, BangaloreWhat to expect: A bright and sunny day, and a pitch which is expected to be a treat for the batters and audience alike.
Team News:
India
Barring the in-form Smriti Mandhana, each member of the team underwent the routine three-hour practice session on the eve of the game.
Their batting has been in pristine form with all of their top five Vanitha VR, Raj, Mandhana, Veda Krishnamurthy and Harmanpreet Kaur amassing ample runs in the preceding fixtures. Though for the same reason, the lower-middle order hasn't had enough exposure. Their ground fielding has been a bit wobbly but captain Raj is backing her side to take it up a notch once the league stage gets underway.
Their bowling received a boost with senior pacer Jhulan Goswami regaining full fitness ahead of their warm-ups after sitting out of the T20I leg of the recently concluded Sri Lanka series. In her absence, however, India found new bowling stars in Anuja Patil and Deepti Sharma.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh come into the tournament rather under-prepared. Their last international fixture was in November 2015, and the practice sessions back home included games against U17 boys team. As much as their captain rues the lack of game-experience, Jahanara Alam is confident that her side can step up and pull off an upset if they click as a unit.
After a meek surrender against Sri Lanka in the first warm-up, Bangladesh pulled themselves up in their next with some tight bowling to keep Ireland to 74. And despite a hundred percent record in the shortest format of the game against Bangladesh, India would be wary of not taking the neighbors lightly.
Alam's troubled shoulder forced her to quit bowling soon after she bowled the first ball of her second over in their last warm-up, but the captain looks fit to take field for the opener.
What they said?
"The Australia and Sri Lanka series were bilateral. We've gained confidence from those but a World Cup is a different scenario altogether. We play different teams. We are not thinking about playing in the final or winning the World Cup. Right now, our focus is more on taking one match at a time. That will reduce the pressure of aiming too high," Mithali Raj said when asked about her side's chances of winning the World Cup.
"We've had a long gap between our last set of international games and this World Cup. We've been preparing back home but practice sessions are not enough to play a World Cup. India are the strongest team in this World Cup, in my opinion but we, as a team believe, nothing is impossible. We'd like to play positive cricket and result will favour the ones who play better game on the day," Jahanara Alam, Bangladesh captain, on facing title contenders India in their tournament opener.
Did you know?
- Mithali Raj is 25 runs short of overtaking Charlotte Edwards, England captain, as the highest run-scorer in World T20s
- All of 22 years, Bangladesh's Jahanara Alam is the youngest captain in this edition of Women's World T20
- Bangladesh hold the record for the lowest ever total in World T20 history when they could muster only 58 for the loss of 9 wickets against England in 2014
Squads:
India: Mithali Raj (C), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Thirush Kamini, Veda Krishnamurthy, Nagarajan Niranjana,Anuja Patil, Deepti Sharma, Sushma Verma, Ekta Bisht, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur,Smriti Mandhana, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Vellaswamy Vanitha
Bangladesh: Ayasha Rahman, Fargana Hoque, Khadija Tul Kubra, Nahida Akter, Panna Ghosh, Rumana Ahmed, Sanjida Islam, Sharmin Akhter, Shaila Sharmin, Fahima Khatun, Jahanara Alam (C), Lata Mondal, Nigar Sultana, Ritu Moni, Salma Khatun
Kapil Dev believes India is the best prepared team for the World Twenty20
