The dream for the next emerging champions of the Women's ODI World Cup is still for the Indian squad. Playing the mega event on home soil has inflated the expectations among the viewers. After back-to-back victories, India seemed all ready to be on the points table. Their loss during the third match, played in Vizag, has raised some fresh concerns. Although the loss was single, this has pinpointed where the team requires Improvement before facing the big teams.
So Far, India's Performance
India played three games so far this World Cup. They beat Sri Lanka and Pakistan but were beaten by South Africa, but by very narrow margin. Batting first versus South Africa, India made 251 runs – an average score. The opening order failed one more time. Batsmen from the middle order and lower order saved the innings by steadying the innings to an extent, but the innings couldn't be defended by the bowlers during the death overs.
The bowling was fine but lost tune while bowling during the later overs. India will have to perform very well to win against the strong teams such as Australia, New Zealand, and England. The match versus them, as well as versus Bangladesh, will be the deciding factors to reach the semis.
Top-Order Battering Continue
Smriti Mandhana, one of the most aggressive strikers in the industry, has yet to make an innings worth this tournament. Pratibha Rawal and Harleen Deol too are unable to capitalize on bright starts. Even the Sinking piddle of Captain Harmanpreet Kaur unable to make an impact is giving the team unimaginable pressure.
The success was driven early by most by Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Richa Ghosh, and Sneh Rana from the tail to the middle order. Richa and Sneh scored influential runs against South Africa by the second time. If Smriti doesn't perform, the onus is on the shoulder of Pratibha Rawal by putting even more tension on her. Many collisions are an issue:
- 81/1 to 124/6 vs Sri Lanka
- 67/1 to 159/5 vs Pakistan
- 55/1 to 102/6 vs South Africa
The same performance, the next match versus Australia will be even tougher.
Bowling: Good Beginning, Poor Ending
Indian bowling has been very consistent. The only problem is leaking runs during the death overs. Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana are still the most reliable bowlers, managing their overs well before the end. That places the rest of the bowlers such as Amanjot Kaur and medium pacer Kranti Goud under even more pressure.
To succeed in the next games, India will need to manage the run flow during the lower order. The enemy teams have strong bottoms to their order deep, big ones up to the eighth, very often. Fielding is better, a good for India's game in general.
Backward Looking
The game still has four still to come from the group stage. The finish they need is among the first four to reach the semifinals. All the game from this point is vital, and any loss will throw them under the cosh to lift the World Cup trophy.
They need to improve their constistency — order-batting and death-bowling. With fine finishing by the identified factors and firmer playing, India still have the potential to reverse the tournament their way.
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