India Women will face Netherlands Women in the Women's T20 World Cup in Leeds on Wednesday. The match appears to be in India's favour; however, the Netherlands are well capable of challenging India. India head into the match loaded with confidence after an impressive victory over Pakistan in their opening match.
Against Pakistan, India showcased their strength in every department, getting off to a perfect start to their World Cup campaign. The most important thing for India was the collective contribution from their batting lineup. Smriti Mandhana rediscovered her touch with a powerful half-century, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur played a composed innings to stabilise the middle overs. Richa Ghosh also stepped up with an aggressive cameo that lifted India's total to an imposing score.
The bowlers also backed the batting unit perfectly. Deepti Sharma sent down a memorable spell, knocking down Pakistan's batting lineup with a five-wicket haul. Now, they gear up to face the Netherlands, India will be eager to maintain the same consistency. They would expect their experienced players Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh to step up.
And for the Netherlands, the tournament has already taught them a valuable lesson. They began their campaign with a defeat in their opening match against Bangladesh, but there were positive signs to suggest that the newcomers are capable of causing problems for India.
Head-to-head
India and Netherlands have never crossed paths in a Women's T20I..
India probable XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani
Netherlands probable XI: Heather Siegers, Phebe Molkenboer, Babette de Leede (c&wk), Sterre Kalis, Robine Rijke, Sanya Khurana, Frederique Overdijk, Iris Zwilling, Caroline de Lange, Silver Siegers, Isabel van der Woning