Rawal's more calculated approach has freed up Mandhana, but when the leftie superstar has been dismissed first, and Rawal gets together with Harleen Deol, the lull in run-scoring has been significant, even if not for the entirety of their partnership, at least for the first 7-8 overs. (AP Photo)There were some impressive backs-to-the-wall performances in India’s 59-run win against Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday to kickstart their World Cup campaign. But the end result shouldn’t paper over some of the cracks that appeared at the ACA Stadium, as Sri Lanka had sufficient opportunities to pull off a gatecrashing upset.
During India’s batting innings, an expected problem resurfaced again. As good as Smriti Mandhana’s ODI form has been over the last two years, there is always a nagging concern: what happens when she gets out early and cheaply? In their brief time together as an opening pair, Mandhana and Pratika Rawal have more often than not hit a good balance between their tempos. Rawal’s more calculated approach has freed up Mandhana, but when the leftie superstar has been dismissed first, and Rawal gets together with Harleen Deol, the lull in run-scoring has been significant, even if not for the entirety of their partnership, at least for the first 7-8 overs.
Sample the match on Tuesday against Sri Lanka, just one of the incidences of this trend. When Mandhana got out, the score was 14/1 after 3.2 overs. While there is sound logic to not go gung-ho right away, both Rawal and Deol went into a shell soon after. The first 70 balls of their partnership yielded just 38 runs, a partnership strike rate of 54.28%. And these weren’t tough conditions too, either. Sri Lanka were able to keep the two right-handers quiet just by bowling stump-to-stump and cutting the angles superbly inside the ring with their ground-fielding.
After the powerplay, around the 15-over mark, the dot-ball percentage in India’s innings was a whopping 69%. There was an over where Rawal hit a full ball that was there to be driven as well as a short ball that was there to be cut, straight to the fielder at short cover. Due to the initial reluctance to play the lofted shots with field restrictions in place, the two batters struggled to find the gaps in the field and found fielders with the kind of accuracy archers and shooters would be proud of. The mere fact that Mandhana was out early is not a good enough excuse for the number of dot balls they played out.
An acceleration did come for a three-over phase from 16-18, but Rawal and Deol both gave away their wickets the moment they tried to shift gears. In the recent past, they have shown that they can indeed catch up close to run-a-ball strike rate if they spend enough time in the middle, but when they don’t, it puts a lot of pressure on the batters to follow.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s brisk start is a sign that she is looking to adapt her approach, and on paper India had the batters to come afterward in Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh to make up for the initial slow-go. But the mini collapse from 81/1 to 124/6 is a clear warning sign for the matches to come.
With the ball, India were largely in control, bar a few phases of counterpunching from Chamari Athapaththu at the top and Nilakshika Silva in the middle order. But the make-up of their bowling unit does raise a potential yellow flag of caution for opponents with stronger batting units. While Amanjot Kaur’s utility as a seam-bowling all-rounder was well illustrated in Guwahati, having her as the second-seam option in a five-prong bowling attack is a gamble, one that actually increases the pressure on the batting unit to consistently post above-par scores.
Speaking after the match, Amanjot did clarify that her recent absence from international cricket – at the backend of the England tour and during the home ODIs against Australia – wasn’t due to any particular injury but a cautious call towards being fully fit for the World Cup. “I don’t have any such injury, but I got to know that my body needed a little rest. I wanted to be fresh for the World Cup. I discussed with the coaches and we did a few scans. I told them that I don’t feel that good in bowling because I don’t want to give only 80-90% when I play for India. Either 100% or nothing. I don’t want to play in the middle. So that’s what I told my coach, that if you are going to select me for the World Cup, then my body needs rest,” the all-rounder told reporters in Guwahati.
While her rhythm with the ball and aggression with the ball are both good signs, India could use the new-ball wicket-taking ability of Renuka Singh Thakur in their ranks. Kranti Goud and Sree Charani, though impressive already in their brief careers, are still young and raw, which means Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma have to shoulder a bulk of the responsibility. Renuka’s presence might aid in that regard. That, however, means India might also have to sacrifice their batting depth, which actually saved them against Sri Lanka. While there might be no need for an immediate reshuffle, with Pakistan next up in Colombo, these are the questions that must be addressed by Amol Muzumdar and Harmanpreet Kaur for tougher challenges ahead.
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