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World Cup: Struggling India run into unbeaten England
India faces pressure against unbeaten England in the World Cup, needing a win to keep semi-final hopes alive after two consecutive losses.
New Delhi: India and England meet at a decisive juncture in the World Cup, more for the hosts. Unbeaten England sit comfortably with seven points while India, after two losses in a row, are under pressure with just four points from as many matches with a semi-final spot at stake.
India head coach Amol Muzumdar had hinted at changes being imminent after the defeats to South Africa and Australia in Visakhapatnam, suggesting that the batting approach and team composition were under review ahead of the clash against England at Indore on Sunday.
The Indore pitch, expected to be far more batting-friendly than those in Guwahati, Colombo and Visakhapatnam could tempt India to alter their balance and perhaps reconsider the trade-off between batting depth and playing an extra specialist bowler.
India’s middle order has struggled to accelerate and add momentum after good starts, often leaving the lower order to rebuild. Simultaneously, the bowling has shown signs of fatigue, particularly at the death where control has slipped. A bold selection call or a recalibrated batting template might be needed to reignite the campaign.
India can’t afford any more errors though. A defeat here would put their semi-final hopes in jeopardy, especially with South Africa on a solid comeback and New Zealand rediscovering form. Against a clinical England, they will need to produce a collective performance that both revives their campaign and restores belief in their blueprint.
Indore was expected to offer respite from the rain that had lashed the other venues but India’s Saturday afternoon training session was washed out by unexpected showers.
Despite their recent setbacks, India will draw confidence from their recent historic series wins over England – 2-1 in ODIs and 3-2 in T20Is – their first-ever over them across formats.
However, that tour allowed a timely reset for the Nat Sciver-Brunt–Charlotte Edwards era, which began with promise in the West Indies before India exposed key weaknesses in their batting and fielding. Since then, England have tightened the screws and sharpened their execution.
For coach Edwards, India has always been significant. She made her first and last World Cup appearances as a player in 1997 and 2013. She has also found success in India as Mumbai Indians coach, guiding them to two WPL titles in three seasons. The familiarity she and Sciver-Brunt have with Indian conditions and team-mates Harmanpreet Kaur and Amanjot Kaur adds another layer to this contest.
After their title victory in 2017, England have faltered in ICC events. They were runners-up in 2022 and exited in the semis of the T20 World Cup in 2023 and at the group stage in the 2024 edition.
“I’ve not spoken about the past,” Edwards said before the World Cup. “It’s about looking forward with this group. We’ve built an environment focused on accountability and have real clarity about how we want to play.”
For India, the challenge remains their struggle against left-arm spin in this World Cup — an area England are well-equipped to exploit. Sophie Ecclestone and Linsey Smith have both been outstanding. Ecclestone took 4/17 against Sri Lanka and 3/24 against Bangladesh, while Smith’s 3/7 was vital in routing South Africa for 69 in their opener.
Add to that the variations of off-spinner Charlie Dean, leg-spinner Sarah Glenn and all-rounder Alice Capsey and England’s spin department is as versatile as any other in this tournament. India return after a week’s interval.
“The best part was getting this break. All our practice sessions were very specific — we practiced against particular bowlers, both left-arm and off-spinners,” said Deepti Sharma. “We worked as much as possible keeping in mind the conditions and the opponents. As a team and as a bowling unit, we focused on the areas we needed to improve.”
England’s campaign has been about consistency – three wins and a washout in four games and the tournament’s best net run rate (+1.864). Their only blip came in their last game, the rain-hit one against Pakistan. A probing spell from skipper Fatima Sana nearly triggered an upset before rain intervened. “We weren’t good enough that day,” Sciver-Brunt said after the match was abandoned. “It was seaming around and we should’ve adapted better.”
England though have quickly learnt from their mistakes. And as the cornered India search for answers, this clash promises to reveal who responds better under pressure — a team trying to stay unbeaten or one desperate to revive campaign.
