Annesha Ghosh is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @ghosh_annesha
India opt to bat; Poonam Yadav in for Meghna Singh
Written by I Dig Sports
Published in
Cricket
Monday, 21 March 2022 20:38
Toss India Women chose to bat vs Bangladesh Women
India opted to bat and set a target against Bangladesh in an important 2022 ODI World Cup clash against Bangladesh at Seddon Park. India were in pursuit of two wins in their remaining two fixtures to strengthen their case for a semi-final spot.
In conditions and on a pitch that heavily favoured spinners during Pakistan's win over West Indies a day ago, pace bowler Meghna Singh was left out in favour of wristspinner Poonam Yadav, who has warmed the bench all through this tournament. Bangladesh, meanwhile, slotted in top-order batter Murshida Khatun and medium-pacer Lata Mondal for Shamima Sultana and Fariha Trisna, respectively.
Mithali Raj, the India captain, expected her fielding unit to support the bowlers, having paid the price for not doing so against Australia. India are fourth on the points table, engaged in a tussle for third or fourth place primarily with England and West Indies, with Bangladesh and New Zealand also mathematically alive in the race.
India came into Tuesday's game with back-to-back losses against defending champions England and title favourites Australia, with their attack having taken both games deep. Bangladesh, for their part, suffered a final-over heartbreak against West Indies, losing by four runs chasing 141. They, however, have looked an improved side with each of their four outings so far, having brought up their maiden victory in a women's ODI World Cup, against Pakistan, last week.
Bangladesh: Sharmin Akhter, Murshida Khatun, Fargana Hoque, Nigar Sultana (wk/capt), Rumana Ahmed, Ritu Moni, Lata Mondal, Salma Khatun, Nahida Akter, Fahima Khatun, Jahanara Alam
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj (capt), Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Jhulan Goswami, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav