India women stick to experimentation in Asia Cup with T20 World Cup in focus

Express News Service

CHENNAI: INDIA had just lost to Pakistan for only the third time ever in the T20I format on Friday. While the on-field rivalry and competition in women’s cricket has never been the same as their male counterparts, it was a result that was always going to create a buzz. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side had experimented with their batting-order in the Asia Cup clash and it did not work in their favour on the day.
Head coach Ramesh Powar came out and defended their approach in the post-match press conference. “We came together as a group, and thought we needed to get through tough situations under pressure with different sets of match winners, not just Jemi(mah Rodrigues, Smriti (Mandhana) or Harman(preet). We have confidence (in the younger players), that is why we tried it,” he said after the loss against Pakistan.
That said, the result and the reaction followed made one wonder if India would continue to experiment. On Saturday against Bangladesh, some forced changes — Harmanpreet, D Hemalatha and Radha Yadav were out due to niggles — meant India had to continue with a bit of experimentation as far as the team combination went. However, they stuck to the proven top three and they came good — Smriti (47 runs from 38 balls), Shafali Verma (55 off 44), Jemimah (24-ball 35), helping India get back to winning ways.
While Smriti and Jemimah have been scoring consistently, Shafali’s contribution was the biggest positive for India. Despite her rough patch, the team management had backed her through the CWG and England series. But with Sabbineni Meghana grabbing the opportunities that came her way in Bangladesh, there was pressure on the teenager to get back amongst runs. And she did exactly that, gaining some much needed confidence before the knockouts.

All said and done, what seems clear so far is that India are treating this tournament to provide game-time to the middle-order — who have at times crumbled under pressure in big knockout games — so that they are prepared better. It’s been the talking point from the team management throughout the Asia Cup. Jemimah reiterated the same on Saturday.

“When the team spoke (before the start of the Asia Cup), we said that this is the tournament that we are going to prepare for the World Cup. So, you want each and every person to get that experience, to go out there in pressure situations and play. The basic idea, even in the Pakistan game, everyone believed that anyone who walked into bat could go out there and win the match for India. That is the basic thought process,” said the 22-year-old.

There are several questions to be asked on-field strategies. But the one thing India seem to be doing right is sticking to their plan with a long-term goal in mind. Whether it will work on the big stage or not is yet to be seen. For now, they could play a maximum of three games before their campaign ends. Which means three more days of experiments and opportunities, for the prize they have in mind is much bigger than the Asia Cup.

Brief scores: India 159/5 in 20 ovs (Shafali 55, Smriti 47) bt Bangladesh 100/7 in 20 ovs (Nigar 36, Shafali 2/10).

<br /> CHENNAI: INDIA had just lost to Pakistan for only the third time ever in the T20I format on Friday. While the on-field rivalry and competition in women’s cricket has never been the same as their male counterparts, it was a result that was always going to create a buzz. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side had experimented with their batting-order in the Asia Cup clash and it did not work in their favour on the day.<br /> Head coach Ramesh Powar came out and defended their approach in the post-match press conference. “We came together as a group, and thought we needed to get through tough situations under pressure with different sets of match winners, not just Jemi(mah Rodrigues, Smriti (Mandhana) or Harman(preet). We have confidence (in the younger players), that is why we tried it,” he said after the loss against Pakistan.<br /> That said, the result and the reaction followed made one wonder if India would continue to experiment. On Saturday against Bangladesh, some forced changes — Harmanpreet, D Hemalatha and Radha Yadav were out due to niggles — meant India had to continue with a bit of experimentation as far as the team combination went. However, they stuck to the proven top three and they came good — Smriti (47 runs from 38 balls), Shafali Verma (55 off 44), Jemimah (24-ball 35), helping India get back to winning ways.<br /> While Smriti and Jemimah have been scoring consistently, Shafali’s contribution was the biggest positive for India. Despite her rough patch, the team management had backed her through the CWG and England series. But with Sabbineni Meghana grabbing the opportunities that came her way in Bangladesh, there was pressure on the teenager to get back amongst runs. And she did exactly that, gaining some much needed confidence before the knockouts.</p> <p>All said and done, what seems clear so far is that India are treating this tournament to provide game-time to the middle-order — who have at times crumbled under pressure in big knockout games — so that they are prepared better. It’s been the talking point from the team management throughout the Asia Cup. Jemimah reiterated the same on Saturday.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>“When the team spoke (before the start of the Asia Cup), we said that this is the tournament that we are going to prepare for the World Cup. So, you want each and every person to get that experience, to go out there in pressure situations and play. The basic idea, even in the Pakistan game, everyone believed that anyone who walked into bat could go out there and win the match for India. That is the basic thought process,” said the 22-year-old.</p> <p>There are several questions to be asked on-field strategies. But the one thing India seem to be doing right is sticking to their plan with a long-term goal in mind. Whether it will work on the big stage or not is yet to be seen. For now, they could play a maximum of three games before their campaign ends. Which means three more days of experiments and opportunities, for the prize they have in mind is much bigger than the Asia Cup.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Brief scores: India 159/5 in 20 ovs (Shafali 55, Smriti 47) bt Bangladesh 100/7 in 20 ovs (Nigar 36, Shafali 2/10).<br />