Indian women’s team gears up for T20I series against Sri Lanka
The squad assembled at the BCCI Centre of Excellence before travelling to Vizag, with the core group from the World Cup-winning ODI side retained for the T20Is.
The Indian women’s team will look to put behind the setback of the three-wicket defeat to South Africa, and start afresh looking to improve on their top-order batting besides adding a sixth bowling option as they gear up for the marquee ICC Women’s World Cup clash against defending champions Australia at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
In many ways, the defeat to South Africa was an eye-opener for the home side, aiming to lift their maiden ICC World Cup title, as it highlighted a tactical void with the lack of a sixth bowling option. When the Proteas targeted India’s pacers in the final overs, the bowlers wilted under pressure.
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Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was forced to roll her arm over, but her part-time off-spin offered little threat as Kranti Gaud and Amanjot Kaur bled 30 runs in the space of two overs (47th and 49th), handing South Africa a seven-wicket win while chasing 252.
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The current Indian attack comprising two right-arm pacers (Kranti and Amanjot), two off-spinners (Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana), and a left-arm spinner (Sree Charani), appeared one-dimensional, especially in conditions that reward both control and variation.
Against Australia’s power-packed line-up featuring Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner, such predictability could be ruthlessly punished.
Adding a genuine sixth bowling option could be a viable option although the selection could be a bit tricky, considering the composition of the squad. The team management may consider adding an extra spinner, given that South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk had pointed out that Indian spinners extracted better purchase off the pitch than the seamers in the last game. In that case, left-arm spinner Radha Yadav could be drafted in, bringing with her both experience and lower-order batting ability.
However, her inclusion could come at a cost. Replacing Sneh Rana with Yadav would deprive India of an off-spinner against Australia’s two in-form left-handers in Beth Mooney, fresh from a century against Pakistan and opener Phoebe Litchfield. To retain variety, India could instead bring in pacer Arundhati Reddy for Amanjot, but that move risks weakening the team’s batting depth, something that has repeatedly rescued India in this tournament.
Another option could be swapping Harleen Deol for Yadav, but that could further dent an already fragile top order, struggling for consistency.
Top-order frailties
India’s batting troubles have become a worrying pattern through the tournament. Against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the top order faltered before the lower-middle order salvaged the innings. Against South Africa, however, the collapse proved costly. Facing Australia, a team known for exploiting even the smallest weakness, such lapses could be terminal.
The onus will once again fall on vice-captain and seasoned opener Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues to deliver substantial contributions. Mandhana, in particular, must rediscover her rhythm after managing just 54 runs from three innings at a dismal average of 18. Mandhana, who came into the World Cup hitting a purple patch, when she amassed 928 runs in 14 innings at an average of 66, has struggled to convert her starts into substantial scores.
Yet, there is a silver lining, as the star left-hander has an impressive record against the Aussies, with 916 ODI runs at an average of 48.21, including four centuries. India will hope she rediscovers that touch on Sunday, because another top-order failure could leave the team in dangerous territory ahead of the equally challenging fixtures against England and New Zealand.
Similarly, India would hope for skipper Harmanpreet and Jemimah to shoulder the responsibility in the middle overs, without hoping for the lower order batters to bail the team out on every occasion.
Teams:
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Renuka Singh Thakur, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud.
Australia: Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Ash Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham.
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