Start of T20 series between India and EnglandImage Credit source: Getty Images
On one hand, there is hue and cry over IPL 2026 and the tournament has reached its end. The Indian women’s cricket team is going to start a new journey. After winning the ODI World Cup under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Kaur, Team India has now set its sights on its first T20 World Cup. For this, Team India has already reached England, where from Thursday 28th May, it will do its ‘dress rehearsal’ for the World Cup, that is, it will come on the field to test the preparations. The T20 series between India and England is starting from Thursday, the first match of which will be played in Chelmsford.
Team India unaware of the circumstances
Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 is starting from June 12 in England itself and just before this, this T20 series is being played between India and England. This series will serve as preparation for both the teams. While England is already in a slightly advantageous position in this series, the Indian team faces some important challenges. The biggest challenge in this is the conditions of England, which are not only opposite to India but it will take time for the Indian team to adjust to them as compared to the host England.
The second big challenge is that of Chelmsford County Ground. The Indian team has not played any match on this ground for 14 years. The Indian team played only one match here in 2012, when it was defeated by England by 8 wickets in a T20 match. Only Harmanpreet Kaur, who was part of the team in that match, is included in the current Indian team.
Bad record against England
Another important challenge is the poor record against England, which shows that it is not going to be easy at all for the Indian team to defeat England. A total of 35 Women’s T20 matches have been played between India and England, out of which Team India has won only 11, while England has won 24 matches. However, only last year, Team India had defeated England for the first time in the T20 series at home by 3-2.
Mandhana’s form cause for concern
A big problem is the form of star opener Smriti Mandhana. Recently, Mandhana’s performance during the South Africa tour in the month of April was very poor. He was even dropped from the last 2 matches. In such a situation, it is most important for them to regain their rhythm in this series because if this does not happen then difficulties are sure to increase in the T20 World Cup.
