India and England vie for a spot in the final as the battle for gold intensifies at CWG 2022

With the group stages done and dusted, the semi-finals are already knocking on the doors as the Indian women hit the yard against the mighty English lionesses in the first knock-out contest of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022.

It has so far been a fine showdown from the Indians as they rocked the Australians for a fair bit of time before the latter took control in the opening encounter of the tournament. However, the Women in Blue quickly dusted themselves off from the close defeat to the Aussies, following it up with a couple of dominant displays that took apart Pakistan and Barbados.

The semi-final will be a different ball game altogether for the Women in Blue as they are up against the mighty English women who are deemed one of the biggest powerhouses of Women’s cricket. They have so far scripted easy wins, slaying Sri Lanka, South Africa, and New Zealand on their way to the semi-final encounter.

Despite a slip-up in the opener, the Indian bowlers have done a fair job throughout the tournament so far as they have racked up a collective 25 wickets from the 3 games that they have been a part of. However, if there is one aspect that has been recurring for the Indian bowlers, that is loosening up their grip on a situation way too early.

England, on the contrary, are believers of conversions and would not let a smidgin of opportunity go. India will have to be near perfect if they are to crack the tough English challenge that features a host of stars namely Danni Wyatt, Sophia Dunkley, Heather Knight, Natalie Sciver, and Katherine Brunt.

India will be heavily relying on the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Shafali Verma to deliver the goods with the bat while Renuka Singh, who has been a revelation with the new ball, and Poonam Yadav will be leading the bowling department for the Indians. With so much on the line, the first semi-final will be a cracker that would witness two cricketing stalwarts hammer away at each other, hoping to secure the first final berth of the CWG 2022.

Match Details:

India vs England

Edgbaston (Semi-final of Cricket at CWG 2022)

6th August 2022

3:30 PM

Squads:

India:

Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, S. Meghana, Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (Wk), Yastika Bhatia (Wk), Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana.

England:

Heather Knight (captain), Nat Sciver (vice-captain), Maia Bouchier, Katherine Brunt, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Bryony Smith, Issy Wong, Danni Wyatt.