India begin their World Cup build-up in Cardiff with two warm-up tests
India's wait for the Women's T20 World Cup is almost over, and the real work starts in Cardiff. Harmanpreet Kaur's side will play their two official warm-up games at Sophia Gardens, taking on West Indies on June 8 and then hosts England on June 10, before their tournament opener against Pakistan on June 14. Two tune-up matches is not much, so India will want to get plenty out of both.
The choice of opponents could hardly be better for sharpening up. West Indies bring power and unpredictability, the kind of side that can rush you if your death bowling is not in order. England, on home soil and in front of their own crowd, offer the sterner test of the two and a useful read on where India stand against a genuine title contender. Getting used to English conditions, where the ball can move early and the evenings turn chilly, may matter as much as the results.
What India need to settle
The warm-ups are where combinations get locked in. India will want clarity on their top order, the balance between spin and seam, and who finishes the innings when 15 are needed off the last over. Harmanpreet and her deputy Smriti Mandhana anchor a batting group with plenty of experience, but the questions tend to sit lower down and in the bowling mix, and two matches against good opposition is the place to answer them rather than in a World Cup game that counts.
There is also the simple matter of rhythm. Several of these players have been through a long season, and a couple of competitive hit-outs help shake off any rust before the intensity ratchets up. India will not read too much into a win or a loss in Cardiff, but they will care a great deal about how settled the side looks coming out of it.
A tough group waiting
The draw has not gone easy on India. They sit in Group 1 alongside Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands, a section that throws them in with the most successful side in the tournament's history and a South Africa team that lost the last two finals. India open against Pakistan at Edgbaston on June 14, always a charged occasion, before fixtures against the Netherlands, South Africa, Bangladesh and a likely group-defining clash with Australia at the end of the month.
The bigger prize is the one that has eluded them. India have reached the latter stages before without getting their hands on the trophy, and this is another shot at a maiden Women's T20 World Cup title. The tournament runs from June 12 to July 5 across England, and for India the road to it begins quietly in Cardiff, with two games that will tell Harmanpreet plenty about what her side is ready for.
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