🏏England Women vs India Women, 2nd ODI at Lord's 🏏

From Southampton, the bandwagon will move north to the capital city of London for the second ODI between England and India at the Lord's Cricket Ground. Just like they did in the T20I series, India have taken the lead in the series, but with this being a three-game series, this is last chance saloon for England. Having opted to bat first, the hosts were rocked early and after a bit of recovery, were in a spot of bother, but fifties from Sophia Dunkley and Alice Davidson-Richards steered them to calmer waters and helped them get to 258.

It did not prove to be enough, and even though India stumbled during the middle phase, Deepti Sharma led the way and, with Jemimah Rodrigues for company, took the visiting side home. It was the same old struggle against spin that has been England's Achilles heel for quite some time, and they will have to find a way to avoid being strangled again, as they are likely to be served a healthy diet of spin going forward.

With the new ball, Kate Cross and Lauren Bell were inconsistent with their lines and lengths, though Lauren Filer impressed. In the spin department, Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean made an impact, but they did seem to miss a trick in Southampton not having a third specialist spin option in Linsey Smith. That said, given how pacers have had a major say in the past couple of Tests at Lord's, pacers could dominate the proceedings. Talking about the pacers, Kranti Gaud gave India a bright start by removing Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont, who had put together double-century stands in the first two ODIs against West Indies.

The spin trio of Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana and Shree Charani did what was expected of them, keeping things tight through the middle overs. However, after an impressive fielding display across the T20I series, India were a bit sloppy in the field this time, putting down three catches, including crucial chances of Dunkley and Davidson-Richards.

In the chase, it was a case of Indian batters getting starts but failing to convert them into substantial scores, and the visitors will be keen to improve on that front. India have now won their last five ODIs against England on English soil, and the last time they played at Lord's, the contest ended in dramatic fashion with Deepti Sharma running out Charlie Dean at the non-striker’s end while backing up. There was a bit of a needle in the series opener, with Pratika Rawal at the centre of it through avoidable shoulder contact, first with Filer while taking a single, and later with Ecclestone after her dismissal.

So, expect the contest at Lord’s to have a bit of spice to it. Will India put the series to bed with another win? Or will it be England who take the series to a decider? We shall find out.

There was a bit of a needle in the series opener, with Pratika Rawal at the centre of it through avoidable shoulder contact, first with Filer while taking a single, and later with Ecclestone after her dismissal. So, expect the contest at Lord’s to have a bit of spice to it. Will India put the series to bed with another win? Or will it be England who take the series to a decider?

Predicted Playing XIs

England Women

Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley, Nat Sciver-Brunt (C), Emma Lamb, Amy Jones (WK), Davidson Richards, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell.

India Women

Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Richa Ghosh (WK), Amanjot Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud.

Pitch Report

The Lord's Cricket Ground is expected to favour the seamers, especially when the ball is new. There are swing bowlers on both sides who can use the conditions to their advantage. The spinners could come into play in the second innings.

Thanks for the tag Madhu.

All the best to team India.

Cheers..

Today's Match Prediction: Chasing team to win the match

Scenario 1

• England Women win the toss and opt to bat first.
• Powerplay: 45-55
• ENG-W: 250-270
• India Women win the match.

Scenario 2

• India Women win the toss and opt to bat first.
• Powerplay: 40-50
• IND-W: 255-275
• England Women win the match.

I wish indian women win today too. Atleast they can inspires our boys to do better at Trent bridge, manchester on Wed-Sun time Frame Next week.

12:00 pm | 4:30 pm IST: It's still raining, but they've taken an early lunch. Hopefully, the showers will abate and we'll have some play later on today.

After having sealed the T20I series with a match left, the Indian women's team are on the verge of completing a double today at the hallowed Lord's. Deepti Sharma's all-round performance was the key in India's tense victory in the first ODI at Southampton and will remain a key figure in India's search for a rare away series win. While deepti turned out to be the match-winner, India found several notable contributions from the rest of the line-up and would hope for the same today. They're through up against a couple of elements - firstly, England are still smarting under the defeat in the T20I series and wouldn't want a similar fate in the 50-over format as well, especially with the World Cup coming up soon. Secondly, the heat wave that we witnessed during the recent Test match has long gone and severe thunderstorms have been forecasted at least until late noon. Will rain have an impact on today's match? We should know more about the conditions soon.

Unfortunately, the weather looks wretched at the moment. It's dull, dark and it's raining at Lord's. Very grim at the moment, but the forecast is for better weather as the day progresses.The toss will definitely be delayed, the start more likely so.

It has been less than a week since Lord's witnessed a thriller of a Test that went down to the final session of the final day. International cricket returns to the iconic ground five days later as India and England will square off once again, but this time for the second women's ODI of the three-match series.

12:45 pm | 5:15 pm IST: The lunch break has been done with, no news from Lord's and it only means that it's still raining

12:00 pm | 4:30 pm IST: It's still raining, but they've taken an early lunch. Hopefully, the showers will abate and we'll have some play later on today.

11:35 am | 4:05 pm IST: No positive update, it's still raining and the entire square is under covers. We have started to lose overs now