With semifinal spot in mind, India lock horns with Ireland as Harmanpreet Kaur-led side won the toss and opted to bat first in their Women's T20 World Cup clash on Monday (February 20).
With India's star all-rounder Radha Yadav unwell, Harmanpreet included Devika Vaidya in playing XI for the Women's in Blue.
“We are going to bat first. Looks a hard and dry surface. Many of us haven't got that many runs, we need to express ourselves. Devika is playing in place of Radha. It means a lot, I got an emotional message from my team-mates. Thanks to BCCI and ICC, we are able to play so many games,” India skipper Harmanpreet said after winning the toss.
Meanwhile, Ireland captain Laura Delany said, “We have to put in our best performance, need to stick to the process. Think the pressure is on India in this game. The players have shown glimpses of what they are capable of doing at this stage.”
With two wins out of three games, India Women are placed second on the points table of Group B. If Harmanpreet's brigade manage to down Ireland, they'll book a berth in the semis. However, if they fail, they’ll have to wait for other results to work in their favour in order to make it through. Given Ireland have lost all the their matches, India are the favourites to win the tie. An Ireland win will interest both West Indies and Pakistan.
India Women's Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Devika Vaidya, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Thakur Singh.
Ireland Women's Playing XI: Amy Hunter, Gaby Lewis, Orla Prendergast, Eimear Richardson, Louise Little, Laura Delany(c), Arlene Kelly, Mary Waldron(w), Leah Paul, Cara Murray, Georgina Dempsey.
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