How England can stop Mandhana and why their bats will stay 'behind the line'

India's Smriti Mandhana is the number one ranked batter in ODIs, with Nat Sciver-Brunt third

England's new era under head coach Charlotte Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt started with a ruthless clean sweep against the West Indies, but their first real challenge begins on Saturday, with the first of five T20s against India taking place at Trent Bridge.

They are followed by three one-day internationals, which will be hugely important in preparation for the World Cup which is being hosted by India in the autumn.

Such is the anticipation for the series, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) commissioned 'Bend it Like Beckham' director Gurinder Chadha to direct a promotional trailer for the ongoing men's, women's and mixed disability series in which India face England in all three.

India are ranked third in the world in both white-ball formats with England in second, and the introduction of the Women's Premier League (WPL) has significantly improved their strength in depth and experience of playing in front of packed crowds under pressure.

BBC Sport looks at the players to watch and the storylines to keep an eye out for.

Battle of the superstars

Sciver-Brunt and India batter Smriti Mandhana are two of the game's biggest icons - at the first auction for the WPL in 2023, the England all-rounder sold for about £320,000 and the elegant India left-hander was the most expensive pick at £340,000.

Mandhana is the world's top-ranked batter in ODIs with Sciver-Brunt in third, while they are fourth and ninth in T20s respectively.

Their individual successes could go a long way in defining the series. England win 79% of their ODIs if Sciver-Brunt passes 50, and that figure rises to 82% in T20s.

India rely a little more on Mandhana in the longer format with a win percentage of 76% if she scores a half-century, compared to 60% in T20s.

In general, India are likely to present a bigger challenge to England with the bat as their bowling looks depleted without the experience and prolific swing of the injured Renuka Singh Thakur.

In their warm-ups, they have conceded 353-5 to England's Select XI in a 50-over match and 194-8 in the T20, eventually losing both.

Mandhana, named Wisden's leading women's cricketer in the world for 2024, has an excellent record against England, averaging 51.68 in ODIs and a fraction over 38 in T20s, but there are areas of weakness for the bowlers to target.

In T20s, England's seamers should target Mandhana on the stumps early in her innings with movement into the left-hander - she averages 23 against in-swing compared to 40 against balls that swing away from her.

Charlie Dean and Alice Capsey should also take note as off-spin is the best match-up to Mandhana. Since 2022, she averages 24 with a strike-rate of 108 - her lowest average and strike-rate against any type of bowling.

Ecclestone under pressure?

Sophie Ecclestone took 4-12 as Lancashire won the T20 Women's County Cup final

The return of Ecclestone, the world's number one bowler in ODIs and ranked fourth in T20s, has dominated the build-up to the series as she returns to the England fold for the first time since the Ashes.

The left-arm spinner made headlines for her off-field behaviour in Australia when she refused a TV interview with former team-mate turned pundit Alex Hartley, who had criticised the team's fitness after the T20 World Cup.

She was then left out of Edwards' first squads for the West Indies series, having missed the start of Lancashire's season with a knee injury. England insisted her absence was due to a lack of game time and to recover from the niggle, though Ecclestone played for her county on the same day the squad was announced.

It was confirmed at the beginning of this month that Ecclestone would take a break from county cricket to "prioritise her wellbeing" and to manage a quad problem, before Edwards named her in the squad to face India.

"This is the best preparation for Sophie, to be ready for India," Edwards said after the final ODI against West Indies, when asked about her previous statements that she wanted to pick players based on form in domestic cricket.

"She has been playing, she has performed really well, including winning the T20 Cup with Lancashire, so I'm happy with how she is tracking."

Despite a difficult period for England, Ecclestone's numbers have never dropped - in 2024 she took 24 wickets in T20s, averaging 14.87 with an economy rate of just 5.59, and 13 scalps in ODIs at a remarkable average of 7.23.

But with fellow left-armer Smith impressing against West Indies, including a five-for on ODI debut - alongside Edwards' insistence that nobody's place in the side is guaranteed - it is unlikely Ecclestone has ever been under pressure like this before.

Solving the spin struggles

One of England's most significant weaknesses over the past couple of years has been their ability against spin, and an apparent lack of strategy against it.

Though West Indies' bowling line-up was unthreatening and England's batters dominated throughout, there were some suggestions this is still a concern and will be tested both in this upcoming series, and more significantly in the World Cup where conditions will suit the spinners.

In the T20s, West Indies opened with Zaida James' spin and she removed Danni Wyatt-Hodge twice with the first ball of the match, while Hayley Matthews took 3-32 in the third T20 and 2-49 in the first ODI.

Though England drew the 2023 Ashes at home, 23 wickets fell to off-spinner Ash Gardner and a surprise T20 series defeat by Sri Lanka followed as the tourists wisely packed their side with slow bowlers.

Leg-spinner Alana King then matched Gardner's tally at the start of this year as England lost 40 wickets to spin in the series at an average of just 12.3.

There is no doubt India will be aware of this and it works to their advantage, too - since 2023, 58% of their deliveries bowled in both white-ball formats have been from spinners, and they have accounted for 62% of their wickets in T20s and 65% in ODIs.

Deepti and Dean reunite at Lord's

Deepti Sharma's run out of Charlie Dean sealed a 3-0 ODI series win for India in 2022

India's last tour of England in 2022 saw the visitors claim a 3-0 clean sweep in the ODIs, with Sciver-Brunt and then-captain Heather Knight's absences sorely felt, but it was the final act of the series at Lord's which saw it end in controversy.

In a thrilling finale, England needed 17 runs to win while India required just one wicket when spinner Deepti Sharma ran out Dean on 47 at the non-striker's end - often referred to as a 'Mankad'.

Dean was in tears, stand-in captain Amy Jones said she was "not a fan" while India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur backed her bowler.

Dean jokingly re-enacted the dismissal in a game for Southern Vipers the following day and the pair have since played together for London Spirit, winning The Hundred last year.

But at Lord's on 19 July, their reunion will inevitably take the spotlight.

"It's in the laws, it happens, so unless the laws change and become a little bit more obvious in terms of what counts and what doesn't, then it's going to keep happening," said England batter Tammy Beaumont.

"We have to get on board with that unfortunately. I'm sure externally there will be plenty of replays but we'll be keeping our bats behind the line for sure.

"We'll play in a competitive spirit as we always do against India, but definitely we will be respectful to all their players too."

Follow ball by ball commentary of every match of India's tour of England on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. TV highlights will be available on iPlayer and the Red Button.