The 10th edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup will get underway with co-hosts England taking on Sri Lanka at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday.
Twelve teams are competing to become the World Champions in women's T20 Cricket. These teams are split into two groups of seven teams each. Australia, Bangladesh, India, Netherlands, Pakistan and South Africa are in Group 1, while England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Sri Lanka and the West Indies are in Group 2.
Every team will play every other team of its group once and the top two teams of each group will progress to play the semi-finals.
England won the inaugural edition of the tournament back in 2009. They ended up as the runner-up on three more ocassions (in 2012, 2014 and 2018) and every time, losing the final to Australia. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have never managed to made the semi-final of a World Cup.
The two sides head into the tournament opener with form on their side. England have won four out of the six matches since the start of the year. Sri Lanka have also been good, having won their last five T20I matches, which helped them register series win over the West Indies and Bangladesh.
England World Cup Squad
Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Dani Gibson, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Heather Knight, Linsey Smith, Issy Wong, Danni Wyatt-Hodge
Sri Lanka World Cup Squad
Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunarathne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Imesha Dulani, Nilakshika Silva, Kaveesha Dilhari, Hansima Karunaratne, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Sugandika Dasanayaka, Nimasha Madushani, Chethana Vimukthi, Kawya Kavindi, Malki Madara, Mithali Ayodhya
Possible Playing XI
England: Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell.
Sri Lanka have already announced the team that will be taking the field against England
Sri Lanka's Playing XI
Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Imesha Dulani, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hansima Karunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Sugandika Kumari, Malki Madara, Mithali Ayodhya.
Players to Watch
- Linsey Smith (England): Watch out for Linsey Smith. The 31-year-old left arm off-spinner is the highest ranked bowler in the world in the T20 format. In her last nine T20 games, including the warm-up matches for the World Cup, she has claimed 12 wickets.
- Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka): Chamari Athapaththu is ranked no.3 of the ICC rankings for the all-rounders. She is one of the greatest Sri Lanka players of her age. She will be her team's driving force in the tournament.
Match Time
The match gets underway at 11 p.m. Indian Standard Time.
Broadcast Details
The match will be broadcasted on the Star Sports television channels.
LIVE Stream Details
The match will be streamed LIVE on the JioHotStar app and website.
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