India got their campaign back on track with a dominant display against the West Indies on Saturday, and will look to bring the momentum from that win into their upcoming Women’s World Cup fixture, in which they’ll hope to land the knockout blow on defending champions England in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday.
India and England find themselves at the opposite ends of the spectrum at the moment. Barring a defeat against hosts New Zealand, India have exhibited the traits of a worthy semi-final contender in their wins over Pakistan and West Indies.
England, on the other hand, are one of the two sides yet to win a game in the ongoing tournament, losing all three matches that they’ve played so far. And a defeat against India, whom they had beaten in the final of the 2017 edition in front of a packed Lord’s, will officially end their hopes of finishing in the top four at the end of the round-robin league stage.
The biggest positive for India from their performance against the West Indies on Saturday was the marked improvement in their batting performance, especially in the top and middle order, given that the bowlers have pretty much been consistent in all three games so far.
India have won two out of three games so far in the Women’s World Cup, and have the second-best Net Run Rate, behind Australia. AFP
Opener Yastika Bhatia’s attacking 31 off 21 balls gave India a much-needed impetus in the first powerplay, which had been missing in the previous game and though they lost three wickets in quick succession, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur were able to build on that start and produce a record fourth-wicket stand that took the game away from the Windies.
Both Mandhana and Kaur are in roaring form at the moment, having struck a half-century in the previous games before scoring tons on Saturday, which will no doubt give the team a lot of confidence going into this week’s big-ticket fixtures. And though Shafali Verma must be itching to have a go at the opposition bowlers and bounce back to form with an impact knock, it will be difficult for the team leadership to replace Bhatia after the kind of impact she made against West Indies.
“We got a great partnership while batting and also the way we bowled in partnerships we want to continue that against England and in the upcoming matches. I think those are the areas which we look to continue. And apart from that, sometimes we are losing back-to-back wickets if we can work on that. Otherwise, the way we want (things to be) we are getting them,” vice-captain Kaur told reporters on the eve of the game against England.
Skipper Mithali Raj, though continues to struggle with the bat at the moment, her scores in the tournament reading 9, 31 and 5, and one wonders if she’d push herself down the order and allow Harmanpreet to bat ahead of her. Raj has after all, struggled to rotate the strike and collect the odd boundary in the middle overs, which has more often than not allowed the opposition to build pressure.
Allowing an in-form batter to come in ahead of her could help maintain a positive run-rate and boost the team’s chances of posting a challenging total, or manage the asking rate if asked to chase. And Kaur batting at No 3 will also maintain the left-right combination that Raj intended to achieve by promoting herself to that position. Might be an unfamiliar position for Kaur, a middle-order specialist, but in Jemimah Rodrigues’ absence, might just be the solution.
England, on the other hand, are dealing with a plethora of issues going into their next assignment. Opener Tammy Beaumont has hit a purple patch while Nat Sciver collected a ton against the old enemy Australia. Sophie Ecclestone too has been outstanding in the last two games and was responsible for keeping her team’s hopes alive till the very end in the narrow defeat to South Africa.
The problem, though, arises with senior seamer Katherine Brunt’s lack of form which has hurt the team badly. As well as with batting order’s tendency to crumble under duress, as had happened in the death overs against South Africa as the team finished with a modest 235/9, as against the 260-270 they would’ve targeted when Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones were at the crease.
And not to mention the poor fielding. Laura Wolvaardt, who laid the foundation for the Proteas’ successful chase with a sparkling 77, was dropped multiple times with Jones even missing a stumping chance. And it will be nothing less than criminal if the team continues to put down catches and gift extra runs in their upcoming clash, especially if the chances come from the likes of Mandhana and Kaur.
“Moving forward, do I feel the pressure? I don’t feel any more pressure than what the players feel and I’m no more disappointed than the players. We came into this World Cup wanting to play better than we have and we haven’t, and it’s been frustrating,” England coach Lisa Keighley said after the team’s third loss on the trot, according to ESPNCricinfo.
For the defending champions, the equation is fairly simple. Every game from hereon is a knockout, and they cannot afford the slightest lapse as such. India, on the other hand, enter the contest as the firm favourites, something few would’ve said before the tournament began, and will be hoping to inch closer to a semi-final spot.
Squads:
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Mithali Raj (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Taniya Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Renuka Singh, Yastika Bhatia.
England: Tammy Beaumont, Danielle Wyatt, Heather Knight (c), Natalie Sciver, Amy Ellen Jones (wk), Sophia Dunkley, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross, Charlotte Dean, Anya Shrubsole, Natasha Farrant, Emma Lamb, Freya Davies, Lauren Winfield-Hill.
Venue: Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
Time: 6.30 am IST | 2.00 pm local
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