New Zealand opt to bat; India go in with three fast bowlers in opener

Toss New Zealand chose to bat vs India

New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat in their women’s T20 World Cup opener against India in Dubai. New Zealand captain Sophie Devine believes the “pitch won’t change too much”, which aided her decision.

They have gone pace-heavy for the game, with Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair and Lea Tahuhu as options, while Eden Carson and Amelia Kerr are the spinners.

India, similarly, have three fast bowlers in the XI for the first time in a T20I this year, with Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Singh and Arundhati Reddy all included. Left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, India’s second-best bowler this year in terms of wickets taken, has been left out to accommodate an extra seamer. Offspinner Shreyanka Patil and legspinner S Asha will be the spinners alongside Deepti Sharma.

New Zealand go into the tournament having won just one out of 13 T20Is this year, while India have won 11 out of 17 in the same period, and go into the match as favourites.

India: India: 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 4 Jemimah Rodrigues, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Arundhati Reddy, 8 Pooja Vastrakar, 9 Shreyanka Patil, 10 S Asha, 11 Renuka Singh

New Zealand: 1 Suzie Bates, 2 Georgia Plimmer, 3 Amelia Kerr, 4 Sophie Devine (capt), 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Isabella Gaze (wk), 8 Jess Kerr, 9 Rosemary Mair, 10 Lea Tahuhu, 11 Eden Carson

Srinidhi Ramanujam is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo