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The pain of Australia defeat: Areas India need to work ahead of England challenge in World Cup

Soumyajit Dutta

Things India Women need to improve [Source: @stunning_gulati/X.com]Things India Women need to improve [Source: @stunning_gulati/X.com]

Two Indian openers, both going wham bam to stitch a 155-run partnership. Middle order stepping up to build a confident total, and yet the team fails. It was an absolute nightmare for the India Women on October 12 as Australia demolished them by chasing a mammoth total of 331 runs.

India’s batting was not totally poor. More than decent performance with the bat from Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana, but Australia exposed the recurring weakness of the Indian Women’s team that has been constantly uncovered in IND-W vs AUS-W encounters.

With India women losing 2 out of 4 matches in the Women’s World Cup, the pill is now hard to swallow. Semi-final chances are shrill, and what is more haunting is the fact that Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. will be facing England Women next, on October 19, which might as well be a deciding factor for the Women in Blue’s survival in the tournament.

Ahead of the clash, let’s take a look at what went wrong with India Women’s performance against Australia last night and what are the areas that they need to work on for a better chance against England.

What went wrong and what can be improved?

1) India lost the game in the powerplay

  • Believe it or not, but India failed in the powerplay itself as Australia came in to the chase. Amanjot Kaur and Kranti Goud bore the brunt, costing super expensive overs that led to Australia gaining an edge over India.
  • Phoebe Litchfield took Amanjot Kaur’s 10th over as the most advantageous, banging her four boundaries to bag 17 runs. Kranti Goud also gave away 19 runs in the 8th over, and these two overs are probably where the game slipped away from India’s hands. 
  • Notably, India bagged only 58 runs at the end of 10 overs while Australia managed to score 82 runs with skipper Alyssa Healy leading the way in the chase.

What to improve here?

  • Tight, very tight bowling: Sneh Rana was the only spinner that India used inside the powerplay, that too for only 2 overs. However, it was evident that she was effective with the ball at that point of time, giving away just 13 runs inside the powerplay. With better line and length and more use of spinners early, the run massacre could have been stifled.
  • Give Arundhati Reddy a chance: Arundhati worked wonders against teams like England and New Zealand during the Women’s World Cup warm-up matches, and it is high time that she gets a chance to be featured against England since she might be more effective than the present pace battery.

2) Fielding lapses were costly

  • The second reason that led to India’s record-breaking loss against Australia is the fielding lapses from players. The fielding throughout the match was a bit sluggish, with one missed stumping chance of Litchfield at the 10th over, a dropped catch of Ashleigh Gardener in the 41st over and a crucial run-out chance missed by Jemimah Rodrigues in the 47th over.
  • All of these woes compounded to hand India a massive defeat at the hands of Australia as Alyssa Healy stormed with her 142-run knock.

What to improve here?

  • Reflex on the field: India Women have been cautioned earlier also by cricket experts about their poor fielding ability. Having sharp reflexes on the field and correct game awareness will help Harmanpreet Kaur & Co. go a long way, which leads to saving up some crucial runs and collecting important catches, especially ahead of the all-important England Women encounter.

3) Lack of consistency in batting

  • Smriti Mandhana clicked with the bat in the encounter against Australia with her 80-run knock, but that was not the case in previous matches. Against SA-W, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Mandhana was sub-par.
  • Deepti Sharma was consistent with the bat in the first two matches of the tournament but faltered in the next two. Jemimah Rodrigues had a decent performance against Australia but was a disaster in the previous three matches.

What to improve here?

  • Consistency throughout the order: A successful batting score will only be built if the top order and middle to lower middle order fire consistently. Depending on only one unit can be dangerous, especially against England Women bowlers like Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean, who have been consistent with wicket-taking in this tournament.
  • Long partnerships: A long partnership is crucial if India Women want to stay in the game against England Women. Ecclestone is known to break long-standing partnerships; hence, a long stand between the openers or a slow yet steady and composed knock from middle order anchors will be key to India’s win against England on October 19.