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England all-rounder Danni Wyatt has warned of the dangers India pose in their own back yard ahead of Tuesday’s ICC Women’s World Twenty20 clash in Dharamsala.
Charlotte Edwards’ side face the hosts in their second Group B clash after opening their campaign with a convincing win over Bangladesh on Thursday.
They face an India side who also beat the Tigers in their first match and recently proved their sprint-format credentials by claiming a series win over World T20 holders Australia.
Their recent performances make them an extremely dangerous opponent, especially on home soil, according to Wyatt.
“India are a very up-and-coming team,” she told ecb.co.uk. “They have got some match-winners in Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur, and they have got some really good young players coming through as well.
Kapow! Watch @natsciver & @Danni_Wyatt tee off with some range hitting at training today! Top bombing! #Eng #WT20 https://t.co/gpni6MYYkD
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 19, 2016
“They have home advantage in Dharamsala and it is going to be a huge game. We are all looking forward to it and hopefully there is a big crowd in and we can play to our strengths.”
Head Coach Mark Robinson insisted there was still some room for improvement despite seeing his side follow up three warm-up wins with victory over Bangladesh.
And Wyatt believes the India match will be the perfect opportunity to take their game to the next level.
“I think we could have got another 20 runs,” she said. “We know what we need to work on. It is not a bad thing that we have things to improve on and hopefully we can nail that against India on Tuesday.”
England will make the switch from Bangalore, where they beat the Tigers, to Dharamsala for the India game.
Conditions will be different over there as Wyatt revealed: “I have been speaking to a couple of the New Zealand lads and they said it is colder than New Zealand.
Batters v bowlers @Danni_Wyatt & @natsciver v @Kbrunt26 & @Anya_shrubsole in the nets this morning #Eng #WT20https://t.co/dGObmHSdNq
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 19, 2016
“I think it was snowing there this morning, but we have all packed our jumpers and we have got our hand-warmers! It looks amazing out there so I can’t wait to get out there.”
Robinson has handed Wyatt a new role in England’s batting line-up, giving her freedom to clear the ropes at the back-end of an innings.
She struck two fours from just eight balls against Bangladesh, combining nicely with Katherine Brunt.
“Mark Robinson has given me this role to come in at six or seven and help give the innings a big ending. Hopefully, as this tournament progresses, I can carry on doing that,” she said.
“I batted with Katherine, I don’t know how many we put on, but we managed to hit some boundaries and ran the twos hard, which is really hard out here with the heat. I have been given that freedom to come in and try and hit the corners.”
Source: ECB