India made two changes to their playing XI as Yastika Bhatia returned and pacer Nandni Sharma earned her first appearance of the Women’s T20 World Cup after the Netherlands won the toss and elected to field at Headingley on Wednesday.
Fresh from a dominant 64-run victory over Pakistan, India will look to strengthen their position in the tournament, while the Netherlands are searching for their first points after opening their campaign with a six-wicket defeat to Bangladesh.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur confirmed the inclusion of Yastika and Nandni in place of Bharti Fulmali and Arundhati Reddy, with India keen to test themselves in batting first under challenging conditions.
“It’s a great opportunity to bat first and challenge ourselves. The powerplay with both bat and ball is something we’re looking forward to. On this wicket, sticking to your plans and batting deep will be crucial,” Harmanpreet said at the toss.
The Netherlands also made one change, bringing in seamer Myrthe van den Raad for batter Sanya Khurana. Captain Babette de Leede expressed excitement ahead of facing one of the tournament favourites.
“We think there will be something in the wicket for the bowlers early on and hopefully we can chase later. Playing against India is a dream come true. There’s a bit of nervousness, but mostly excitement,” she said.
The match is being played on the same surface used for Australia’s convincing nine-wicket win over Bangladesh. With overcast skies and a strong breeze expected, conditions could offer early assistance to the seamers.
Playing XIs
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Sree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Nandni Sharma.
Netherlands: Heather Siegers, Phebe Molkenboer, Babette de Leede (c & wk), Sterre Kalis, Robine Rijke, Frederique Overdijk, Iris Zwilling, Myrthe van den Raad, Caroline de Lange, Silver Siegers, Isabel van der Woning.