Coming off a mediocre outing thanks to the team’s injudicious shot selection in the testing conditions at Lord’s, India will have its task cut out when it faces a rejuvenated England in the series-deciding third Women’s ODI here on Tuesday.

Visiting India produced a fine display with the bat to win the first match by four wickets but came a cropper in a rain-curtailed game in the British capital on Saturday to leave the three-match series evenly poised at 1-1 heading into the final ODI.

The series holds significance for both teams as the World Cup is scheduled to start in two months’ time. The marquee 50-over women’s tournament kickstarts on September 30, with five cities across Sri Lanka and India playing host.

India came into the second game with its nose ahead and was expected to grab the series due to its all-round strength and form of some big players.

However, poor shot selection and an inability to adapt to the conditions spoiled its plans as it struggled to 143 for eight batting first in a 29-overs-a-side contest.

READ | “We couldn’t adapt to conditions quickly,” says Smriti Mandhana

The bowlers, too, failed as England’s top-order batters completed an easy chase with three overs to spare.

Now, coming into the decider, India suddenly has a lot to ponder over.

Except for vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, its batters were found wanting against the likes of Sophie Ecclestone, Em Arlott and Linsey Smith at Lord’s.

With the accurate Ecclestone leading the way, the India batters struggled against the spinners especially, and they will certainly hope for a much better outing against the slow bowlers at Chester-le-Street.

India bat long but for the visitor to win the game and the series, it will need at least a couple of players from among Mandhana, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Pratika Rawal, and Harleen Deol to play big knocks with Richa Ghosh and Deepti providing support lower down the order.

Smriti Mandhana shone with the bat with a 42 in the 2nd ODI.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

The team will be looking for early breakthroughs from the pacers before the spinners get into the act.

Adding some spice would a hint of tension that was visible in the second game.

The Harmanpreet-led side had appealed for obstruction of the field by Tammy Beaumont after Jemimah threw the ball at the striker’s end.

The Indians believed that the batter deliberately blocked the throw, but the third umpire concluded that it was not out after taking a good look at the replays causing a fair bit of disappointment in the visiting camp.