After a brilliant draw in the one-off Test match, India will enter the white-ball series which begins with the first ODI at Bristol on Sunday.
What to expect:
First of all, rains. The rain is on the cards for the day and is likely to interrupt the contest. Hopefully, we get to see a match today. In that case, both teams will be keen to chase at this venue and it is likely that India would go in with their attacking option, Shafali Verma.
The youngster is likely to make her debut in ODIs today after making heads turn in both T20Is and the recently concluded Test. If she is in, she is likely to open the innings with Smriti Mandhana.
The number three spot is still a mystery considering the contrasting form of Punam Raut and Jemimah Rodrigues. The latter had a poor outing in her last international campaign and had to sit out during her Tests.
Raut, on the other hand, did well during the South Africa series despite the fact that India went down cheaply. Also, she was among a few runs in the Test as well. If Raut is playing at number three, Mithali Raj would come in at number four and there will be Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma.
Priya Punia, who opened the innings during the South Africa series is likely to miss out else, India would go on to feature her at number three while the other players would move a position down.
While Taniya Bhatia was one of the stars in the 2nd innings of the one-off Test, her batting has always been in question. In that case, India might look into a solid batter who can score quick and thus, Indrani Roy might be given a go considering her performances in the Senior One-day trophy.
Of course, the amount of competition is different right here but you got to try when you got to try. She is in good form for more than a year now and is certainly an excellent time to squeeze her in the batting order.
She is very capable of playing the finisher role for the team and has done a few times for her domestic teams before taking up the opening role. However, the team might not be up for risk in the 1st ODI.
Poonam Yadav failed to impress in the South Africa tour followed by the senior one-day trophy, which means, she is unlikely to feature today (or not) and India might look to go in with Sneh Rana who has impressed with the bat in the Test match. Rana is also capable of scoring quick and could play a proper second fiddle to any of the experienced batters during a hefty run chase.
In the bowling department, Ekta Bisht is likely to play this contest as she is in decent form compared to the other bowlers. Jhulan Goswami is the only mandatory pick among the bowlers. The experience of Shikha Pandey could get her in the squad ahead of other pacers.
Talking about the first ODI alone, India are likely to go with Taniya Bhatia and would get to Indrani Roy if the former fails in the first match. Shafali Verma are likely to play this one. Sneh Rana might have to wait as team could go in with Pooja Vastrakar considering the weather and also, she can bat.
Predicted XI:
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia, Sneh Rana/Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami and Ekta Bisht.
