Harmanpreet Kaur’s bat calm
Against Ireland, Indian batsmen will have to play aggressively, especially captain Harmanpreet Kaur and opener Shefali Verma. Both have not been able to play any significant innings so far. Harmanpreet has scored 16, 33 and 4 in three matches so far which is way below her level while Shafali has scored 33, 28 and 8 runs. Young Richa Ghosh has been the most consistent batsman for India, scoring 31, 44 and 47 not out. She would like to continue the same rhythm against Ireland.
Jemimah Rodrigues, who scored a match-winning 53 not out against arch-rivals Pakistan, scored another 13 in the next two matches and will be looking to do better against Ireland’s weak attack than other teams. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana played a half-century innings of 52 runs against England, which is also good for India.
good performance in bowling
In the bowling department, medium pacer Renuka Singh, who had a career-best performance of five wickets for 15 runs against England, would like to do better against Ireland. The experienced Deepti Sharma has been India’s most consistent bowler so far. With Rajeshwari Gaikwad still wicketless in three matches, the Indian team will be hoping for a good performance from her and Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav. Top-order batsman Orla Prendergast has been in good form for Ireland, scoring 109 runs in three matches, while Gabby Lewis has also scored 84 runs in three matches.
Teams are as follows
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shefali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Jemima Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Saravani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gaikwad and Shikha Pandey.
Ireland: Laura Delany (c), Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter, Shauna Kavanagh, Arlene Kelly, Gabby Lewis, Louise Little, Sophie McMahon, Jane Maguire, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Rachel Delaney, Eamer Richardson, Mary Waldron.
According to Indian time, the match will start at 6.30 pm.