On a high after two easy victories on the trot, including one against defending champion Australia, the Indian women’s cricket will aim to inch closer to a semifinal berth when it takes on New Zealand in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup here on Thursday.
The Indians have hardly broken a sweat in their 17-run and 18-run wins over hosts Australia and Bangladesh in their previous two matches, and they are perched at the top of five-team Group A standings with four points from two matches.
A win against New Zealand on Thursday will take the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side on the threshold of a knock-out stage spot, to have competed among the top two teams from Group A and B.
In the two matches so far, the Indian team has been impressive both in batting and bowling.
The 16-year-old sensation Shafali Verma has been the standout batter with a whirlwind 17-ball 39 against Bangladesh, following her 29 against Australia.
Here the dream 11 tips for you to pick your team for the clash:
Captain: Sophie Devine
The New Zealand skipper should be the blind pick for either captain or vice-captain as she is phenomenal with both bat and ball. Devine now has 6 successive 50-plus scores in T20Is. She also hammered an unbeaten 75 in the tournament opener against Sri Lanka.
Vice-captain: Shafali Verma
The 16-year-old Indian opener has shown her power-hitting in the two matches. She smashed a 17-ball 39 against Bangladesh to be adjudged the Man of the Match.
Hot Picks:
Smriti Mandhana
The Indian opener could play only the opening match for India as she missed the Bangladesh match due to fever. Mandhana was not among runs against Australia but she has a good record against New Zealand. Her record fifty also came against the same side.
Poonam Yadav
The leg-spinner has been on a roll in this tournament. She picked up a 4-wicket haul against Australia and took 3 wickets against Bangladesh. Batters find it difficult to play her slow deliveries with a lot of flight.
Suzie Bates
Bates is the highest run-getter in the format (3208) and walk automatically into the Dream 11. She had also scored a 47-ball 78 in the warm-up against Thailand.
Dream 11: Sophie Devine (c), Shafali Verma (VC), Smriti Mandhana, Suzie Bates, Jemimah Rodrigues, Maddy Green, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Lea Tahuhu, Amelia Kerr
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