'Mentally prepared' India women's team look to challenge experienced England outfit in one-off Test
Jun 15, 2021
Bristol [UK], June 15 : While the England women's team plays Test cricket on and off, the India women's team will be sporting the white jersey for the first time in nearly seven years on Wednesday when the two teams lock horns in a one-off Test at the Bristol County Ground.
The last time India women's team played a Test match was in November 2014 where the Mithali Raj-led squad defeated South Africa by an innings and 34 runs. While there is visibly no momentum, Team India would still look to start on a positive note. In the seven years, England has played three Tests against Australia.
But India's Test vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur feels lack of game time isn't a concern as the side is "mentally" prepared. "We may not have much practice under our belt [going into the Test], but mentally [we are prepared]. We've discussed a lot of things so we prepare ourselves well for the match," Harmanpreet said in a virtual press conference on Monday.
"Even in the nets, we've tried to be in a good frame of mind because when you are happy, other than thinking too much about your batting, you tend to play well," she added.
Even England vice-captain Nat Sciver didn't shy away from praising Team India. Interestingly Sciver was a part of the only Test when India locked horns with England in 2014. India had defeated England by six wickets back then.
Sciver said the Indian women's cricket team seems to be more fearless as compared to before. However, the matter of fact is England will start as favourites having played more Tests than India.
Moreover, eleven players of England's full squad have played a game in the longest format while only eight from India have featured in a Test before. But just like Mithali, the women's squad too is known for scripting history and you never know what this week holds for the team on English soil.
