Women's World Cup: India look to inch closer to semi-final berth, face struggling England in crunch clash

Women's World Cup 2022: A confident Indian side has the opportunity to potentially knock out defending champions England from the race for the semi-final spots when the two teams meet in a repeat of 2017 final in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday.

It was against England that India's World Cup hopes came crashing in 2017. Mithali Raj's side lost a closely-fought final against the then hosts at the picnic Lord's in London. 5 years hence, India have the opportunity to potentially end the title defence of Heather Knight's side which is struggling to get off the mark at the Women's World Cup 2022 in New Zealand.

India can inch closer to the semi-final spot if they manage to beat England when the two sides meet in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday.

Their confidence high after an impressive win over the West Indies, India would look for much-needed consistency with the bat as they look to peak at the right time at the showpiece event.

Currently placed third after a morale-boosting 155-run against the West Indies, India would like to keep the winning momentum going and maintain its stay in the top four especially when they take on table-toppers Australia after England.

After an inexplicably slow performance against New Zealand when the Indian batters played out 162 dot balls, Smriti Mandhana (123 of 119) and Harmanpreet Kaur (109 off 107) produce a splendid batting display, slamming twin centuries against the West Indies to power India to their highest total (317/8) in the history of the showpiece event.

Both openers -- Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia -- showed intent from the very beginning, something coach Romesh Powar had stressed upon ahead of the match.

Mandhana played a fluent 123 run-knock while Kaur also continued her fine run, bringing up her fourth ton and the first since hitting the famous 171 not out against Australia in the 2017 World Cup.