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It seems both luck and pluck are deserting the Indian women’s team in the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup. When they were defending a target in their previous two games against South Africa and Australia, they were a bowler short, and when they were chasing a target against England in Indore on Sunday, they were a batter short, having replaced Jemimah Rodrigues with Renuka Thakur.
Losing momentum
Of course, that was not the sole reason for the defeat in all three games. They had complete hold on these matches, but let it slip as immense pressure got the better of them and made them take the wrong route when a judicious approach would have won them the day. If the bowling at the death left much to be desired in the previous two games, against England, it was indiscreet shot selection that did them in, beginning with vice-captain Smriti Mandhana’s soft dismissal.
At the post-match media interaction, a despondent Mandhana took responsibility for the debacle, saying that it all began with her dismissal when she was on top of the bowling.
India’s Deepti Sharma after being dismissed for 50 against England in Indore on Sunday; (Right) A dejected Amanjot Kaur (left) and Sneh Rana after failing to take India over the line on Sunday. Pics/Getty Images
“I mean, it [the batting] collapsed, everyone saw that. I think everyone’s shot selection at that time [was poor]. We could have done better with our shot selection. It all started with me, so I will take it on myself that the shot selection should have been better. We just needed six [runs] per over and maybe we should have taken the game deeper. So yeah, I mean, I’ll take it on myself because the collapse started with me.”
Three successive defeats have now placed the hosts in a precarious position. And it’s not going to be easy in their next game against New Zealand, the winners of the ICC T20 World Cup in Dubai exactly a year ago. Mandhana knows the importance of the match against the White Ferns and is backing her teammates to bounce back quickly. “In cricket, nothing comes easy. For sure, the next match would be a virtual quarter-final in terms of getting into the top four, and you don’t play cricket to have easy days.
“We’ll all take this in our stride. We all know where we could have done better, where we went wrong. We all know all of those things, and yeah, as I said, if you’re playing a sport, you’re meant to have good days and bad days. It’s about how you take those bad days and move on and see how we can give off our best against New Zealand.”
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said that after Mandhana’s dismissal, there were enough batters to take the team across, but they failed to do so.
‘A heartbreaking moment’
“Smriti’s wicket was the turning point for us. Still, [we] had batters, but I don’t know how things went the other way. It’s a bad feeling when you have put in so much hard work, but the last five-six overs didn’t go according to plan. It’s a heartbreaking moment. We are playing good cricket, we are not giving up, but we have to cross the line. It’s been the last three games where we showed up with good cricket, but still ended up on the losing side,” Kaur said.
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