We want to be ruthless in the field: After historic T20I triumph, India women ready to dominate England in ODIs

New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) After sealing their first-ever T20I series win against England on their home soil, the Indian women's team are all set to dominate the hosts in the three-match ODI series, starting from Wednesday.

With the ODI World Cup on home soil, scheduled to be played later this year, team India would like to carry the winning momentum from the historic 3-2 T20I series win to boost their morale ahead of the mega spectacle. Notably, the India women won their last ODI assignment in May when they clinched the tri-series against Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Pratika Rawal, who remains the preferred opener alongside Smriti Mandhana for the upcoming ODI series against England, said the team has been playing a winning brand of cricket throughout this year and will continue this to dominate the hosts in upcoming ODIs.

"We have played a brand of cricket throughout this year and we have been winning a lot and we would definitely want to continue this. We want to carry that momentum, we want to dominate them, we want to be ruthless in the field and just go for it," Pratika said in a video shared by BCCI women on X.

Speaking about her preparation for the series, Pratika added that coming early to England helped her to assess the conditions well. "I am holding my nerves, I am excited. I came on the 6th of July and it has been good 6-7 days here. I had my first net session in Manchester and when I was batting there, I sensed that the ball was skidding. Also the bounce was a bit more as compared to the Indian wickets. So I was able to assess in which areas I could place the ball, or maybe hit runs or score runs accordingly," said Pratika.

"I had conversations with all the players. Also back home I was practicing in the indoor nets, I was practicing on Astro wickets so that I could get used to the bounce. Also, I had conversations with Harman di (Harmanpreet Kaur) Smriti di (Smirti Mandhana) and also with Amol (Muzumdar) sir, to assess the conditions more strategically, in which areas I could play, what my strengths are, and how I could use them in the match so I could counter the English pace bowlers," she added.

Middel order batter Tejal Hasabnis, who is on her first England tour, also shared her excitement, saying, "It's my first tour to England and yes, obviously I am very much excited. Being early in England has helped me a lot, especially adapting to the wickets, because conditions and the way weather change, like it's not as same as we have in India."

"Winning T20I series has been very motivating, and I would like to take that motivation into the ODI series as well," she said.

The first match of the three-match ODI series commences on Wednesday at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

--IANS

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