England, India battle it out for supremacy in Bristol in rare Test

Overview:

England vs India, only Test
Bristol County Ground, Bristol
16-19 June, 11:00 am local

The hosts will be led by the veteran Heather Knight while Nat Sciver was handed a promotion as her deputy. There was also a maiden call-up for seamer Emily Arlott who was in sensational form in domestic cricket and might very well be handed her debut cap. The Test will mark the beginning of a busy two-year schedule for England as they build up to two World Cups, an Ashes series and the Commonwealth Games.

For the visitors, the match will see their long-awaited return to the Test arena, having last played the longest format in 2014. Led by the experienced Mithali Raj, they will have a lot to ponder upon in terms of selection for the match. The biggest dilemmas will be the opening partner for Smriti Mandhana and who joins Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey in the bowling attack. India will be chasing a fourth successive Test victory, posing a major challenge for the hosts.

Remember the last time:

The two sides last battled it out in a Test match in 2014 in England. India emerged victorious courtesy of a sensational bowling performance in the first innings, skittling out the hosts for 92. They then gained a first-innings lead, putting up a score of 114 on the board.

Goswami's 4/48 then restricted the hosts to 202 in the second innings and composed knocks by Mandhana and Raj sealed the victory for the visitors in a tricky chase.

What they said:

Heather Knight (England captain):"They're a good team, they've got some brilliant bowlers. They've got some aggressive batters as well that could take the game away from us but we're very confident in our plans and how we're going to do things."

Mithali Raj (India captain): "It's good to have the Test match in a series. This is just the beginning. I hope we continue to have bilateral series where all three formats are there."