India Women Tour ENG Women 2026: Day-1 Preview & XI
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If you're tuning in for the first T20I of India Women's 2026 tour of England, the toss is at 17:30 BST and first ball is at 18:00 BST (22:30 IST). The Rose Bowl in Southampton hosts the opener under lights, with Sky Sports Cricket carrying the live feed in the UK and JioHotstar in India. The Rose Bowl in late June plays true with quick boundary returns; spin in the middle overs is the consistent matchup story across women's T20Is at the venue. Here's the Day-1 read.
Day-1 Fixture Timings
| Event | Local (BST UK) | IST |
|---|---|---|
| Toss | 17:30 | 22:00 |
| First ball | 18:00 | 22:30 |
| Innings break | 19:30 | 00:00 (D+1) |
| Match end (target) | 21:30 | 02:00 |
England summer twilight at Southampton runs late; lights come on by over 12 of the second innings.
Rose Bowl Pitch Read for Women's T20I
| Stat | Value (last 6 women's T20Is at Rose Bowl) |
|---|---|
| Avg first-innings score | 152 |
| Avg second-innings winning score | 148 |
| Win % batting first | 50% |
| Win % bowling first | 50% |
| Avg PP1 score | 41 |
| Avg PP1 wickets lost | 1.6 |
Even split on chase vs defend — a true T20I venue. Spin from over 7 onwards averages 6.4 RPO; pace averages 7.6 RPO.
India Women Probable XI (subject to fitness)
| No. | Player | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smriti Mandhana | Opener |
| 2 | Shafali Verma | Opener |
| 3 | Jemimah Rodrigues | Top-order |
| 4 | Harmanpreet Kaur (c) | Middle-order |
| 5 | Richa Ghosh (wk) | Wicketkeeper |
| 6 | Deepti Sharma | All-rounder |
| 7 | Pooja Vastrakar | All-rounder |
| 8 | Radha Yadav | Spinner |
| 9 | Sneh Rana | Spinner |
| 10 | Renuka Singh | Pace |
| 11 | Titas Sadhu | Pace |
India's plan-A is Mandhana setting Powerplay tempo, with Harmanpreet anchoring through over 12.
England Women Probable XI (subject to fitness)
| No. | Player | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maia Bouchier | Opener |
| 2 | Danni Wyatt-Hodge | Opener |
| 3 | Heather Knight (c) | Top-order |
| 4 | Nat Sciver-Brunt | Middle-order |
| 5 | Alice Capsey | All-rounder |
| 6 | Amy Jones (wk) | Wicketkeeper |
| 7 | Sophia Dunkley | Middle-order |
| 8 | Sarah Glenn | Spinner |
| 9 | Charlie Dean | Spinner |
| 10 | Lauren Bell | Pace |
| 11 | Lauren Filer | Pace |
England rotates Knight back into the captaincy after her recovery; Sciver-Brunt remains the side's most-feared all-rounder.
Head-to-Head: India vs England Women in T20I
| Tournament | Result | Top scorer |
|---|---|---|
| ENG W tour IND 2024-25 | IND won 3-2 | Smriti Mandhana series 198 |
| T20 WC 2024 SF | ENG won by 5 wickets | Nat Sciver-Brunt 51* |
| Women's Asia Cup 2024 (vs ENG XI) | — | — |
| ENG W tour IND 2026 | IND won 2-1 | Harmanpreet Kaur series 152 |
England leads the all-time T20I head-to-head 16-12 over India. India has tightened the gap since 2023.
Broadcast Grid
| Region | TV | Streaming | First-ball local time |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Sky Sports Cricket | Sky Go / NOW | 18:00 BST |
| India | Sports18 / Star Sports | JioHotstar | 22:30 IST |
| Australia | Fox Cricket / Kayo | Kayo App | 03:00 AEST (D+1) |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport NZ | Sky Sport Now | 05:00 NZST (D+1) |
| USA | Willow TV | Willow App | 13:00 ET |
| South Africa | SuperSport | DStv Stream | 19:00 SAST |
| Bangladesh | T Sports | T Sports App | 23:00 BST |
JioHotstar (India): standard cricket pack at INR 149 / month. Sky Sports UK: subscriber-only.
Tickets and Venue Access
Rose Bowl women's T20I capacity is approximately 15,000 (lower-bowl plus selected upper). Tickets are sold via the Hampshire Cricket portal.
| Tier | Price (GBP) | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitality | 110 | Box, meal voucher |
| Premier reserved | 35 | Lower bowl reserved |
| General | 18 | General admission |
| Children under 16 | 5 | Family tier |
Public sale typically opens 6-8 weeks before the fixture. Junior tickets are heavily discounted. Family group passes are available.
What to Watch
- Mandhana's Powerplay strike-rate against Bell and Filer's new ball.
- Nat Sciver-Brunt's middle-overs threat — she averages 38.6 in this fixture.
- Charlie Dean's offspin to the Indian middle order.
- Renuka Singh's late-innings reverse swing.
Weather Window
Southampton mid-summer evening: 17-19°C, partly cloudy, 25% chance of light shower in the 21:00 BST window. Likely full game.
For broader context, see the England vs Pakistan women ODI 2026 recap Knight comeback century, the England vs New Zealand women ODI series 2026 recap Sciver-Brunt, and the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 India host complete preview.
Quick FAQ
Are matches in HD on JioHotstar? Yes on the standard cricket pack.
Family pass available? Yes — Hampshire Cricket sells family groups at discount.
What if rain washes out? DLS applies; cut-off after 5 overs each side for a result.
Where to next on the tour? 2nd T20I at Edgbaston, then 3 ODIs and a one-off Test.
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Karthik Iyer
Expert in: InternationalCricket analyst and content writer at CricJosh, covering International with 473 articles published.
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