Women’s Senior T20 Challenger Trophy, 2019-20: Match 1, India A Women vs India B Women: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Match Details:

The 1st game of the Women’s Senior T20 Challenger Trophy 2019-20 will be played between India A Women and India B Women at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

The match starts at 11:00 AM local time (IST) (5:30 AM GMT)

This game will be live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD. Streaming available on Hotstar.

Preview:

The Women’s Senior T20 Challenger Trophy will kick start on Saturday when India A Women takes on India B Women in Cuttack. The tournament will be a crucial one for the Indian Women’s team ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup slated to begin in February. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will be leading India A that contains the big names in the form of Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav. The T20 Vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana leads India B and will be seen in action along with her opening partner Jemimah Rodrigues.

Weather Condition/Report:

Possibility of showers in the morning are quite high in the morning but the forecast is expected to improve from 10 AM local time.

Pitch Condition/Report:

The Barabati Stadium in Cuttack is yet to host a Women’s T20 and any Women’s game since the 2013 Women’s CWC. During that tournament, the teams batting first touched 230 more often at this venue, a total which is a must in Women’s ODIs in the present day. The recent ODI between India and West Indies was played on what was a flat track but showed signs of turn during the second half of the chase. Hence, we can expect a high scoring match on Saturday.

Average first innings score: N/A

Record of chasing teams: N/A

Injury and Availability:

Poonam Yadav has been ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.

Probable Playing XIs:

India A Women:

Priya Puniya, Jasia Akhtar/Shivali Shinde, Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Devika Vaidya, Bharati Fulmali, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Mansi Joshi, Meghna Singh, Komal Jhanjhad, Radha Yadav.

Bench – Jasia Akhtar/Shivali Shinde, Sneh Rana, Meenu Mani.

India B Women:

Smriti Mandhana (C), Jemimah Rodrigues, Vanitha V.R, Sushri Dibyadarshini, Anjali Sarvani, Sushma Verma (WK), Pooja Vastrakar, Anuja Patil, Renuka Singh, Shikha Pandey, T.P. Kanwar.

Bench: R Kalpana, Richa Ghosh.

Top Picks:

Vanitha V.R hasn’t made it big at the International cricket but has always been amongst runs even when she gets a chance against touring teams. In the recent T20 competition, she scored 214 runs at an average of 26.75 with help of a fifty. UP’s Meghna Singh finished among the top wicket-takers in the Senior Women’s T20 tournament picking up 13 wickets from 9 matches at an average of 9.38 only. Deepti Sharma has been in rich form this season in the T20 format. She should her finishing skills in the KSL and ran through the West Indies line-up during their tour last month.

Shikha Pandey is also in the form of her life, especially with the ball. Anuja Patil was dismissed only once in the 2019-20 Senior Women’s T20 where she amassed 154 runs across four innings with help of two fifties. She also took six wickets at an average of 16.66. Shivali Shinde of Maharashtra scored an unbeaten hundred in the T20 competition. She scored 277 runs across 11 matches. Punjab’s Jasia Akhtar scored 241 runs in that tournament across 7 innings at an average of 60.25. However, only one of Akhtar and Shinde could be in the final XI.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain – Deepti Sharma, Smriti Mandhana, Priya Puniya, Jemimah Rodrigues

Vice-Captain – Harmanpreet Kaur, Vanitha V.R, Devika Vaidya, Shikha Pandey

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Sushma Verma

Batters – Meghna Singh, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues (VC), Vanitha V.R

All-Rounders – Deepti Sharma (C), Devika Vaidya, Harmanpreet Kaur

Bowlers – Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, T.P. Kanwar

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Taniya Bhatia

Batters – Anjali Sarvani, Priya Puniya (VC), Smriti Mandhana (C), Jemimah Rodrigues

All-Rounders – Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Devika Vaidya

Bowlers – Radha Yadav, Sushri Dibyadarshini, T.P. Kanwar

Expert Advice:

Since the tournament will be helpful to finalize India’s squad for the T20 World Cup, the players who are in the line are expected to get first preference in the selection. Our probable XIs and Suggested XIs are picked based on the same expectations.

Probable Winners:

India B looks more balanced than India A and hence they are likely to win this match.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.