An under-prepared Indian women’s team would look to begin its World Twenty20 campaign on a positive note when they take on Sri Lanka in a Group B league match here on Monday.
Indian women have not played against top oppositions in recent times and their performance has been a mixed one in the the warm-up games. They lost to New Zealand by 17 runs before beating Ireland by 26 runs.
Interestingly, India had lost to Sri Lanka 1-2 in the T20 International series at home earlier this year and the Mithali Raj-led team would look to avenge that defeat.
India have made an important change to their batting line-up for the tournament. Their best batswoman and captain Mithali will open the innings instead of coming in at her usual No 3 position. She has been in fine touch in the warm-up games, making 42 in the win over Ireland and 53 against New Zealand.
The strategy will require Poonam Raut to move down to steer the middle-order in the company of vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Veteran seamer Jhulan Goswami, who has also shown superb form in the warm-ups, will lead the attack. Along with Goswami’s experience, India have got a battery of spinners in Sravanthi Naidu, Poonam Yadav, Gouher Sultana and Archana Das.
