Key events
England win toss, bat first
Nat Sciver-Brunt immediately asks to set a target.
Looks a good deck, she’s confident about that call.
“Clear and focussed,” is the message from the skipper.
No worries for India as Hamanpreet Kaur says she would have bowled first anyway.
Not long to go. Indore looks a picture with gorgeous blue skies.
There’s other cricket on the go if you fancy.
England’s spinners might be doing the business, but their batters. have failed to show up as a unit.
As Raf Nicholson points out, they may be unbeaten (as they’ve not yet played Australia) but it’s not been a perfect show in India.
Preamble
Good morning everyone and welcome to this World Cup match with plenty on the line.
After a rained-off game against Pakistan spared the blushes of England but they’re still sitting pretty in third on the table and should already have enough in the bank to qualify for the next round.
It’s hosts India, though, who really need this win. Another defeat would be their third from five matches and would turn their remaining fixtures against New Zealand and Bangladesh into knockout games. They can’t afford a slip here.
India have the edge over England lately and have won five of the six ODIs the sides have played against each other since the 2022 World Cup.
This will be a battle of the spinners and England’s slow turners have been in good touch, picking up 24 of the 30 wickets the side has taken across the tournament. India’s batters have struggled in particular against left-arm spin which means Sophie Eccelstone and Linsey Smith will have a big part to play.
The game will be played on a red-soil pitch (news to me too) which tends to provide bounce and carry. It’s also a fresh deck as the last time any cricket was seen here was 13 days ago.
We’ve got the conditions. We’ve got some jeopardy. We’ve got two ace outfits. Let’s hope all the ingredients come together and deliver a cracking contest.
