Something's got to give when England and India lock horns in the Women's T20 World Cup on Saturday with both sides yet to lose in South Africa.
England Women and India Women have both started this year's T20 World Cup with two wins from two matches, putting them in control of Group Two with England currently ahead on net run-rate.
The stakes are therefore high when they meet at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth with the winners set to have one foot in the tournament's semi-finals.
| What | England Women vs India Women, T20 World Cup |
| Where | St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, South Africa |
| When | 13.00, Saturday 18th February 2023 |
| How to watch | bet365’s Live Streaming, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket |
| Odds | England Women 8/13, India Women 13/10 |
England make strong start in South Africa
England crashed out at the semi-final stage of the last T20 World Cup back in 2020 but their preparations for this year's tournament went well and they are yet to put a foot wrong in South Africa.
They rounded out 2022 with a 5-0 drubbing of West Indies in their final T20 series of the year and, ahead of this T20 World Cup, they won both of their warm-up assignments with South Africa and New Zealand pretty comfortably.
Their first group game at the T20 World Cup was also straightforward as they recorded a seven-wicket win over the Windies and, although they faced some resistance, they managed to make it back-to-back victories when they played Ireland at Boland Park.
Ireland were bowled out for only 105 in that contest and, although England chased it down in 14.2 overs, it was not a completely smooth ride with Ireland's spinners fighting back to help claim six England scalps.
For some, that batting performance will be of concern but there is also the argument England will now be more aware of complacency and the team will be well aware of the importance of this clash with India.
India looking to build on final appearances
England are 4/1 shots to win this T20 World Cup with only 4/9 favourites Australia ahead of them in the outright betting but India should also not be written off at 9/2.
There is hope that 2023 could be a key year in women's cricket in India with the Under-19s team recently crowned world champions and the Women's Premier League to commence next month.
In 2020, India lost to Australia in the T20 World Cup final and went down against the same opponents in the final of the Commonwealth Games, so it is fair to say they know how to go deep in major tournaments.
India were also the only team to defeat Australia in 2022 and should not be completely disregarded in this matchup.
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All things considered, though, England still look like the wisest bet at 8/13 to win this match.
They are yet to give fans a major reason to doubt them and came out on top 2-1 in the last T20 series between these sides in September last year.
A lot was made of the experience of Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt coming into this T20 World Cup but England's young guns have arguably impressed the most.
Alice Capsey has comfortably swatted aside concerns about her fitness following a broken collarbone and is England's top scorer after two matches with 64 runs scored.
She struck only 13 against the West Indies before being stumped but bounced back with a 22-ball 51 against Ireland and she has averaged 33.11 across her first 12 T20 internationals.
Capsey struck an unbeaten 38 against India in Bristol back in September and is worth a bet at 4/1 to be her side's top runscorer.
Mandhana has only just returned for India
India, meanwhile, have only just welcomed back star batter Smriti Mandhana, who missed their opener against Pakistan before contributing 10 from seven deliveries against the West Indies.
She can be lethal on her day but is still finding her feet back in the team, handing England the advantage. In her absence, Richa Ghosh and Shafali Verma have performed well, scoring 75 and 61 respectively across two matches, but Jemimah Rodrigues is the one to keep an eye on.
Already this year, Rodrigues has put on unbeaten scores of 42 against the West Indies and 53 against Pakistan in T20s and looks decent value at 10/3 to be her team's top batter.
