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It was the 16th over of India’s chase against Pakistan. They had just fallen to Fatima Sana on consecutive deliveries, taking out Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh. Even though India was four down and the equation had changed to a relatively challenging 26 off 27 balls, there was no immediate threat of defeat.
India had the chance to show more courage, as they had not even dared to get out of second gear. Big-hitting S Sajana was substituted for Pooja Vastrakar, who was sidelined due to an injury, in the starting XI. It was logical.
At that point, two boundaries may have ended the match and accelerated India’s quest for victory, which would have helped their net run-rate somewhat. It was the moment to unleash Sajana. Rather, Deepti Sharma left at number six to go with Harmanpreet Kaur.
With seven deliveries, Deepti milked four singles and two off. She used her tried-and-true half-sweep/nudge with two fielders back to bring up a single even though three runs were needed off of 11 balls. After Harmanpreet had withdrawn with a sprained neck, Sajana did enter the game and smacked her first ball to the cover boundary to end it.
This priority on safety was not solely a result of India losing a number of wickets. It was their small run chase’s fundamental idea. India didn’t hit a single boundary in the powerplay; in fact, they only attempted three aggressive answers in the first six overs. Were they wary since New Zealand had suffered greatly as a result of their barnstorming strategy? Or was it just a trick of the surface?
Granted, pitches will be drier than normal due to the heat, but that much is certain. Furthermore, the lack of dew at practice and in their first night game has eliminated the possibility of a win-toss-win-match outcome, which had rendered the men’s T20 World Cup in 2021—which will also be held here—completely foreseeable. And on Sunday night, just after India lost badly, the West Indies crushed Scotland’s 99 runs in 50 balls or less.
India are in a risky situation after losing by 58 runs to New Zealand and using second and third gear against Pakistan, even if they still managed to secure two points. It’s also far from certain that they will make up lost ground against Sri Lanka, who they lost to in the Women’s Asia Cup final.
Even if they succeed in defeating Sri Lanka, India will still be left to risk its fate.
India may have to defeat Australia by a specific margin in order to advance, as if competing against them in a knockout round wasn’t difficult enough. Halfway through their group-stage campaign, New Zealand shouldn’t be aiming for that, unless they do India a service by defeating Australia on Tuesday. However, India is the one who brought it upon herself.
India’s batting and catching lineups have come under intense scrutiny, particularly with regard to the No. 3 spot. Before India’s campaign, head coach Amol Muzumdar had all but guaranteed Harmanpreet for the No. 3 position; nevertheless, Rodrigues replaced him against Pakistan. Harmanpreet’s neck is now hurting.
Observing how they perform at their best while resolving a lot of minor problems would be fascinating. They really don’t appear to be a champion squad at all.
Harmanpreet has expressed a desire to be like Rohit Sharma’s squad. Following India’s 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final elimination, Rohit had disowned the idea of turning ordinary chases into difficult ones, as India demonstrated on Sunday.
With an intent-driven strategy that the whole team adopted, Rohit set the stage for their successful run to the 2023 ODI World Cup final and, this June, the T20 World Cup championship. We’re not sure how much of that Harmanpreet & Co. have discussed, but it’s a strategy they would be wise to take on before it’s too late. The captain will have to take the lead in order to do that.