India's WC hopes ride on openers Shafali, Smriti

As India prepare for another shot at the Women's T20 World Cup, much of their hopes will rest on their explosive opening pair, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana.

- Shalini Gupta

They have been instrumental in defining India's approach, providing starts that dictate the match.

In T20 cricket, momentum is everything. A strong Powerplay sets the tone, forces captains on the defensive and lets the middle order play freely. India have repeatedly benefited from the Mandhana-Shafali efforts at the top. The left-right combination is complementary. Mandhana’s elegance and timing are contrasted with Shafali’s power and fearless strokeplay. Yet, they head into the World Cup after a lean series against hosts England. Opening stands of 19, 27 and 0 were meagre pickings. Mandhana averaged 13.33 in the series with a highest of 32, while Shafali averaged 11.66. However, Shafali's strike rate was an impressive 152.17, compared to Mandhana’s 114.28.

The only time both looked settled was in the second T20I in Bristol where Mandhana scored 32 off 25 and Shafali 22 off 14 in a chase of 169. India were set before a collapse of 7/32 resulted in a 26-run defeat.