Toss India Women chose to bat against West Indies Women

India opted to bat against undefeated West Indies in Hamilton as they look to rebound from their loss against New Zealand a day ago. Mithali Raj, who becomes the captain with the most Women's ODI World Cup appearances, anchored her decision to set a target on the nature of the used Seddon Park strip, which she expects to slow down further.

Raj's opposite number, Stafanie Taylor, too, wanted to bat first, with both teams fielding the same XIs as their previous matches. This means India retain three left-handers in their top five, a talking point from the loss against New Zealand.

However, unlike Thursday, when they had no right-handers in their top three, Raj is expected to replace Deepti Sharma in the No. 3 spot. Yastika Bhatia and Smriti Mandhana open for the second game on the trot and are expected to provide India a sizeable score in the powerplay.

West Indies, meanwhile, will rely on their quick-bowling contingent, which includes Shamilia Connell, by Chinelle Henry and Shakera Selman, to make early inroads. Their in-form offspinning trio of Anisa Mohammed, StafanieTaylor and Hayley Matthews are also likely to have an impact on the turning Seddon Park surface.

West Indies have looked vulnerable against spin and found strike-rotation difficult at times. India, too, have had issues with dots piling up. Much of whether India can salvage their chances of making the knockouts of this World Cup will depend on their performance as a fielding unit. On Saturday, it could prove the difference between a second straight campaign-threatening defeat or a much-needed win against a side that despite their occasional errors on the field have managed to down the hosts and defending champions, England, in their first two outings.

India: Yastika Bhatia, Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj (capt), Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

West Indies: Deandra Dottin, Hayley Matthews, Kycia Knight, Stafanie Taylor (capt), Shemaine Campbelle (wk), Chedean Nation, Chinelle Henry, Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Anisa Mohammed, Shakera Selman