India are ready to set the ball rolling as they are just a few hours away from their ICC Women's T20 World Cup campaign opener against New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) on Friday, October 4. The game between India and New Zealand will be the second one of the day and will take centre stage after the Group B fixture between South Africa and West Indies.
India came to UAE without much match practice. Their last T20I assignment was the ACC Women's Asia Cup played in July. However, some of their players participated in the Women's Hundred and also competed in the Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) whereas the others polished their skills in a practice camp in Bengaluru before flying to the UAE.
The good news for the Women in Blue is that both Yastika Bhatia and Shreyanka Patil are fully fit and participated in the warm-up games. Their participation in the tournament was subject to medical clearance and it seems that both the players are raring to go.
India are third on the ICC Women's T20I team rankings whereas their adversaries for the evening are fourth.
Dubai International Cricket Stadium Pitch Report for India vs New Zealand ICC Women's T20 World Cup match
The pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium will provide an equal amount of assistance for both bowlers and batters. The surface at the venue has historically been slower and will be no different on Friday. Notably, the India vs New Zealand match will be played on the same strip to be used for the South Africa vs West Indies afternoon match.
Dubai International Cricket Stadium T20I Record and Stats
Total T20I Matches: 97
Matches won batting first: 45
Matches won bowling first: 51
Average first innings score: 141
Average second innings score: 125
Highest total scored: 212/2 by IND vs AFG
Highest score chased: 184/8 by Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh
Lowest total recorded: 55 all out by WI vs ENG
Lowest total defended: 98/5 by NAM-W vs UAE-W
India Women Squad: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur Singh, Dayalan Hemalatha, S Sajana, Yastika Bhatia, Asha Sobhana
New Zealand Women Squad: Suzie Bates, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (c), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze (wk), Hannah Rowe, Rosemary Mair, Eden Carson, Fran Jonas, Lea Tahuhu, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer
