India eye clean sweep, ICC C’ship points in dead match
Best bowling average among pacers in women's ODIS since Jan 1, 2017 (minimum of 20 wickets)
MWBowling average of top teams in women’s ODIS
MUMBAI: With India taking an unassailable 2-0 lead against England in the second ODI on Monday, the third and final match of the series on Thursday is of only academic interest. However, such is the equation with the series being part of the ICC Championship that neither team can afford to take the contest lightly.
For hosts, it’s an opportunity to whitewash England for the first time in an ODI series, besides earning two crucial points in the ICC Championship to keep their 2021 World India women’s team has the best bowling average in ODIS since Jan 1, 2017, ahead of South Africa. West Indies have the worst among the top-5.
NR
4
0
18.47
19.30
20.79
21.38
23.41
W/L ratio
1.165
2.363 Cup qualification on track.
As of now, India are ranked No 3 in the ICC rankings and since they need to be in the topfour till 2020 to earn a direct qualification for the World Cup, they would love to have two more points from Thursday’s game, considering there is hardly any possibility of playing Pakistan in this period.
“Every match is important because every match has points for ICC World Cup. We are looking forward to playing some good cricket (on Thursday),” said India pacer Julian Goswami in the pre-match press conference here on Wednesday.
On the question of missing points if India don’t play Pakistan, the veteran pacer said, “BCCI will decide that, and we don’t know what will happen against Pakistan and I cannot comment on that. But all the matches are important for us and whenever we play, we must play positive and good cricket and try to do things right.”
England, on the other hand, would look to finish the series on a high and gain some confidence going into the three-match T20 series starting in Guwahati on March 4.
They had come here with a reputation, having done well in international cricket of late, but found it tough to compete against a rejuvenated Indian side.
On the eve of the match, skipper Heather Knight urged her teammates to forget the past results and approach the game with a clear mind.
England also have an injury concern with left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone flying home after fracturing her right hand during the warm-up. Leg-spinner Sophia Dunkley is expected to make her ODI debut in her absence on Thursday.