The Big Picture

After completing a 66-run win in the opening ODI, the Women in Blue will look to take an unassailable 2-0 lead when they take on the defending champions, England in the second ODI on Monday.

Indian bowlers- led by Ekta Bisht [4-25] and seamer Shikha Pandey were at the heart of the 66-run win in the first ODI as England endured a middle-order meltdown where they lost their last seven wickets for 25 runs after Heather Knight [39] and Natalie Sciver [44] had put on a 73-run stand for the fourth wicket.

But, it wasn't as hunky-dory for the Indians as the winning margin suggested. The batting followed a script quite similar to what we have been accustomed to in the past few months- a good start by the openers followed by a complete harakiri by the middle-order. 

Opener Jemimah Rodrigues [48] and Smriti Mandhana [24] got the side off to a good start with a 69-run stand but the middle-order barring Mithali Raj [44] failed to capitalize on the start and it took a brisk 37-ball 30 by Jhulan Goswami to take the team total past 200.

But, in the end, the total proved to be more than enough, as the visitors- barring a 73-run stand between Sciver and Knight failed to put any sort of resistance against the Indian bowlers, something they would like to rectify as they strive to enforce a decider in a 3-match series.

Venue- Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Match Timing- Monday, February 25, 2019, 09:00 AM IST

Head-to-Head [Last five ODIs]

Won by India- 3

Won by England- 2

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India is currently locked with the White Ferns' at the second spot of ICC Women's Championship, and a win in this series will further consolidate their position in the points table; especially after the Kiwis lost the ODI series to the Aussies Down Under.

Squad-

India Women:

Mithali Raj [c], Mona Meshram, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Punam Raut, Jhulan Goswami, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia, Ravi Kalpana

England Women:

Heather Knight (C), Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Lauren Winfield, Danielle Wyatt, Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Sophia Dunkley Brown, Sophie Ecclestone, Georgia Elwiss, Alex Hartley, Amy Ellen Jones