Women's World Cup preview: India

Squad:  Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mona Meshram, Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht, Sushma Verma, Mansi Joshi, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Nuzhat Parveen, Smriti Mandhana

Fixtures: June 24 v England, June 29 v West Indies, July 2 v Pakistan, 5 July v Sri Lanka, 8 July v South Africa, 12 July v Australia, 15 July v New Zealand.

Best result:  Runners-up (2005)

ICC ranking: 4th

The talking point: India head into the tournament bolstered by some outstanding recent results. In April, they set a new international cricket record after their women’s side smashed the highest-over opening partnership in a one-day international, posting 320 for the first-wicket against Ireland. They were also on a run of 16 ODI runs until a recent defeat to South Africa, although only one of those wins came against a team placed higher than them in the ICC rankings.

The star: Only England legend Charlotte Edwards has scored more ODI runs than Mithali Raj and the India skipper has the chance to move above ‘Lottie’ with a strong World Cup campaign. With 5781 runs from 177 ODIs, the 34-year-old has been in staggering form of late, scoring half-centuries in her last six ODI innings. She scored 671 runs at 111.83 during India’s 16-game winning streak, so needless to say, how she fares with the bat will have a big say in how her team performs.

The one to watch: Smriti Mandhana has returned for the World Cup after a long injury layoff since tearing a ligament in her knee while playing for Brisbane Heat in WBBL|02. The batter captured worldwide attention when she scored a century against Australia in Hobart early last year, but it will be interesting to see if she can fire immediately, given her time on the sidelines this year.

The verdict: India finished seventh in their home World Cup in 2013, but their recent outstanding form should have them full of confidence heading into this tournament. They claimed an away win over Australia early last year and whitewashed the West Indies on home soil, but questions remain about how they will fare in English conditions. Their squad doesn’t possess the same wealth of fast-bowling options as other sides, so they will be relying on their spinners to have a major impact with the ball. 

Women's World Cup 2017 Guide

Australia World Cup squad: Sarah Aley, Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell (vc), Nicole Bolton, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Meg Lanning (c), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Squads: Every World Cup squad named so far

Australia's World Cup schedule

Warm-up matches

June 20: Australia v South Africa, Oakham

June 22: Australia v Pakistan, Leicester

Tournament

June 26: Australia v West Indies, Taunton

June 29: Sri Lanka v Australia, Bristol

July 2: Australia v New Zealand, Bristol

July 5: Pakistan v Australia, Leicester

July 9: England vAustralia, Bristol

July 12: Australia v India, Bristol

July 15: South Africa v Australia, Taunton

July 18: First semi-final, Bristol

July 20: Second semi-final, Derby

July 23: Final, Lord's