India captain Harmanpreet Kaur returned to practice on the day before the second T20 International against England, scheduled to be played in Bristol on Tuesday. Harmanpreet had sustained a head injury during the warm-up match against the ECB Development XI last week, causing her to miss the first game of the five-match series as a safety precaution. The team will decide on her availability on match day.
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Injury and Impact on the Series
Although the exact moment Harmanpreet suffered the head injury is unclear, she had made a quickfire 28 runs off 16 balls, including four boundaries, before being dismissed lbw by legspinner Sarah Glenn in the warm-up game where India fell short of their 195-run target by six runs. Following that incident, Harmanpreet skipped the pre-series press conference and missed the opening T20I in Nottingham, which India won convincingly by 97 runs.
In her absence, Smriti Mandhana captained the side and scored her first T20I century, helping India secure a 1-0 series lead. Mandhana became the first Indian womanβand only the fifth player overallβto hit a century across all three international formats. She revealed later that she was informed about her captaincy role just hours before the match but was mentally prepared for the responsibility.
Milestones and Team Outlook
Mandhana is set to add another achievement to her name on Tuesday at Bristol, becoming only the second Indian womanβand seventh player overallβto play 150 womenβs T20Is. Harmanpreet leads all players with 178 T20I appearances across both menβs and womenβs cricket.
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Sneh Rana commented on Mandhanaβs milestone. βWe are grateful to have her in the team.β Rana herself made a comeback in Nottingham, playing her first T20I since the 2023 T20 World Cup.
Following the Bristol match, the two teams will continue the series with games scheduled at The Oval on July 4, Manchester on July 9, and Birmingham on July 12, before shifting focus to a three-match ODI series.
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