India Women vs New Zealand Women playing 11 team

womans world cup

India Women vs New Zealand Women 

Preview

It all boils down to this, eventually. On Saturday (July 15) when all eight participating teams of the 2017 ICC Women's World Cup would be in action - some to avoid wooden spoon, others looking for a better finish in top-four - all eyes would be on this winner-takes-all contest between India and New Zealand at Derby. With table-toppers England, defending champions Australia and South Africa sealing their semifinal spots courtesy comprehensive wins in their sixth round games earlier this week, India and New Zealand, placed fourth and fifth in the points table, are left to battle it out for the last remaining spot on the final day of the league round.

How did it come down to a straight shoot-out between two of the most promising teams at the start? For India, the wheels started to come off after four wins on the bounce, right when they were to line up against two of the strongest opponents in their last three outings. They outfoxed England in their tournament opener to lay the marker as one of the favourites to progress to knockouts but that evened out with an unexpected, and big, loss to South Africa in the fifth round, more as a result of one tactical blunder after another. Up against Australia next, a lethargic batting display left them considerably short of a total worthy to challenge inarguably the world's best.

India might boast of the world's leading ODI wicket-taker and run-scorer in their ranks, but as a unit they are struggling to function collectively. After inconsistent pacers and misfiring allrounders, the absolutely last thing India wanted was a chaos in the batting department. Mithali Raj has been the only constant, albeit at the centre of criticism during her record-breaking knock in the previous outing. Openers Punam Raut and Smriti Mandhana have exactly two noticeable knocks each, but a dry spell otherwise has directly impacted the batting that follows. The big-hitting Harmanpreet Kaur too hasn't lived up to the billing. The spin department has been India's saviour on most occasions but the lack of wickets from strike bowlers is often leaving them over-stressed.

Although at this stage, India couldn't have asked for a better opponent than the ones who have oddly flunked at crucial junctures in all ICC events since finishing runners-up in 2010 World T20. Despite earning the tag of pre-tournament favourites, the desperate need to better their recent record in World Cups can bring in extra pressure and New Zealand would be cautious to not let that deny them another shot at glory.

What gives New Zealand an edge is that they haven't been heavily reliant on one, or more, batters throughout. Suzie Bates and Amy Satterthwaite have been consistently amongst the runs, but in the face of difficulty, the rest too have put their hand up. In the bowling department, spinners Amelia Kerr and Leigh Kasperek have led the way remarkably well despite their limited experience at the highest level. On a slow Derby track, it might well turn out to be a spin vs spin contest that decides the fourth semi-finalist.

A morale boost for India is that they return to a favourable ground where they have enjoyed a 100 per cent winning rate in this competition. Even as a majority of those wins have come against the minnows, it's also the venue where India did the unthinkable and stunned the now table-toppers England. On the other hand, New Zealand's first visit to Derby was a washout and the second resulted in a heavy 75-run loss to England recently, both of which directly propelled them into this do-or-die situation. There can't be a better motivation for either of the sides to give it their all tomorrow. Weather permitting, of course. The rain forecast for tomorrow will prove fatal to New Zealand's chances, for India have one extra point.

When: India vs New Zealand, Match 27, July 15 at 9:30am GMT, 3:00pm IST

Where: County Ground, Derby

What to expect: Showers - a lot of it. However, if the weather holds up, the pitch has been on the slower side so far in this competition.

Team News

India: There is a lot at stake on Saturday and India's safety-first approach could mean Mansi Joshi continues on the bench despite the inconsistency of senior pacers Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey. No. 9 is tad late for the young Deepti Sharma to make any sort of impact with the bat, and given a fragile middle order, India might look to promote the allrounder slightly higher in the order, at the expense of off-colour Harmanpreet or Veda Krishnamurthy.

New Zealand: New Zealand fielded their strongest XI against England in the previous fixture at the same venue and, irrespective of result, shouldn't ideally be making any changes to that line-up. That considering Sophie Devine, who is struggling with a side strain, is fit to take field.

What they said:

"The girls are so talented, but it's just a matter of how well they pull themselves up after a defeat. That's what makes world champions. As a team, we have to step up. If we perform again like against Australia it will not be enough. We really have to improve all over the pitch, especially producing more consistency from how we are bowling and fielding," Mithali Raj wants her team to step up in the virtual quarterfinal.

"We've played some really good cricket and only lost to England and Australia, so it's not all doom and gloom. We've got what is basically a quarter-final against India and we know we can beat them. But we've got to play well because one of us is going home," Suzie Bates is positive of making it to the semis.

 

India Women Team

E Bisht, RS Gayakwad, J Goswami, M Joshi, H Kaur, V Krishnamurthy, S Mandhana, MR Meshram, S Pandey, Poonam Yadav, NM Parween, M Raj*, PG Raut, DB Sharma, S Verma†

New Zealand Women Team

SW Bates*, EM Bermingham, SFM Devine, ML Green, HR Huddleston, LM Kasperek, AC Kerr, KJ Martin, TMM Newton, KT Perkins, AM Peterson, RH Priest†, HM Rowe, AE Satterthwaite, LMM Tahuhu

 playing xi team for dream 11

Dream11 Team:-

Wicket Keeper:-

• Sushma Verma

Batsman:-

• Poonam Raut
• Amy Satterthwaite
• Mithali Raj

All-Rounders:-

• Suzie Bates
• Sophie Devine
• Deepti Sharma

Bowlers:-

• Lea Tahuhu
• Amelia Kerr
• Ekta Bisht
• Poonam Yadav

Captain: - Amy Satterthwaite

Vice Captain: - Mithali Raj

Other Captain and Vice Captain Choice: - 

• Suzie Bates
• Poonam Raut
• Deepti Sharma

Match Record:-

India Women

• Deepti Sharma:- 
• Mithali Raj:- 
• Poonam Raut:- 

New Zealand Women

• Suzie Bates:- 
•  

• Probable XI According To Batting Order:- 

  India Women:- Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Sushma Verma, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Panday, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bist.
  
  New Zealand Women:- Rachel Priest, Suzie Bates, Amy Satterthwaite, Katey Martin, Sophie Devine, Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Holly Huddleston, Lea Tahuhu, Amelia Kerr, Leigh Kasperek.