Debasis Sen in Nottingham
The much-anticipated five-match WIT20 series between India and England women will kick-start with the first match being played at the historic Trent Bridge cricket ground in Nottingham on Saturday, June 28. It will be the first time ever that Nottingham will host a women’s IT20. The five-match series is seen as a dress rehearsal for the 2026 women’s World Cup, which will start on 12 June in London, with India playing their first game on 14th June in Birmingham.
Having covered the Indian men’s cricket team for the last two decades, it will be my only second opportunity to cover the Indian women’s cricket team. And that is what excites me immensely when I travel to Nottingham from Birmingham with my colleague Trisha Ghoshal, who is a women’s cricket nerd. In fact, the only time I covered a women’s cricket match was also with Trisha. It was the thrilling final of the 2022 Commonwealth Games which Harmanpreet Kaur and her team lost to Australia by 9 runs at the Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham.
There’s a palpable sense of excitement and optimism surrounding the coverage of women’s cricket. The sport is experiencing a surge in popularity, with increased media attention, larger crowds, and growing investment, leading to a feeling that women’s cricket is on the cusp of a major breakthrough. There has been enough branding for the five-match WIT20 series involving India and England in the United Kingdom.
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Talking about the Trent Bridge cricket ground, the venue has witnessed the Indian men’s team register two great Test match wins in recent times. Fortunately, I had the chance to cover both the Tests. The first of course was the 7-wicket win in the 2007 Test series. Rahul Dravid’s men pipped the hosts 1-0 in a three-match rubber.
It was the third Test series win by India in this country after 1971 and 1986. Since then, the visitors have lost three series in a row (2011, 2014 and 2018) in the Old Blighty. They came close to snapping that losing streak the last time they toured England, eventually drawing a COVID-ravaged five-match series 2-2 in 2021-22.
During the tour of 2018, Virat Kohli-led India registered an emphatic 203 runs win at the same venue. The former India captain scored 97 and 103 in both innings, respectively, while Hardik Pandya bowled a match-winning spell of 5/85 in the second innings.
It will be a great moment for Harmanpreet and co. if they can register a win at the historic venue and go 1-0 ahead in the series. Incidentally, Harmanpreet and Nat Sciver-Brunt have enjoyed an absorbing battle on an individual level since they first locked horns in a WIT20 more than a decade ago.
Also Read: Spirited India Women Fall Short Again as ECB Select XI Seal T20 Warm-Up Thriller