India have one win and one loss in their first two matches. Women’s T20 World Cup They have had a mixed start to the campaign and will need to go all out in the remaining two group games to keep their semi-final chances alive.
A 58-run defeat to New Zealand in the opening match and a tough win over Pakistan in the next match did not help. Net run rate which is disappointing -1.217,
The batsmen had a chance to improve on that number while chasing a modest target against Pakistan, but that did not happen as they chased down the target of 106 runs in 18.5 overs.
Now, India will face Sri Lanka in a do or die match today (October 9) where they need a convincing win to keep their knockout hopes alive.
Before the clash, former Indian cricketer Reema MalhotraThe player, who featured in 41 ODIs and 22 T20Is, spoke exclusively to TimesofIndia.com on India’s prospects and how lack of intent has been a cause for concern. Edited excerpts:
Q. Are you surprised by India’s lack of intent in the tournament?
Look, when we talk about a T20 match, it is about intent and approach. Even when India were batting in the first two matches, I did not pay attention to the aggression and intent. Perhaps the wickets are not that conducive to strokeplay. This World Cup was to be held in Bangladesh and matches were already being played here in UAE. The wickets were not that well prepared and these are used wickets. So I doubt that a score of 170-180 will be achieved. But yes, to score 140-150 you have to show intent. And this is a cause of concern for India.
If we talk about the first match against New Zealand, the batting had completely collapsed. If the highest score was 15, it was a complete collapse. India made a good comeback against Pakistan with a win, but at the same time when you know you can win, India should have picked up the pace, because to beat New Zealand’s net run rate you have to be 11.2 against Pakistan. The goal was to be pursued. Over. But you could not do this. Fair enough. But then you could have chased it in 15-16 overs against Pakistan. I think India will have to show their A game and play aggressive cricket, even if it backfires, but just winning is not enough anymore.
Question: Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma have not performed well in the tournament. Has India suffered loss due to this?
Now, India don’t just have to win, they have to improve the net run rate and all the batsmen have a role to play in that, especially Smriti Mandhana, who has had a poor two games. If you want to score big you need a solid opening partnership. Pick any team… Neither team has made big partnerships as the ball is holding the pitch, the wicket is a bit slow where the role of spinners and cutters is gradually increasing. Every batsman is struggling. But if you look at the innings of Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry against New Zealand yesterday, they took time in their innings. There was a time when Perry scored only 3 runs in 10 balls but after that she got settled and started scoring runs. Beth Mooney had made the same plan. So I think you cannot start with a bang, but once you are set, you can perform with a bang and ensure that you do not lose your wicket at that time. Spend some time on the wicket to get used to the speed.
Question: Do you think India can reach the semi-finals?
Look, we’re hoping for the best. New Zealand has lost to Australia. Now India will first have to ensure victory against Sri Lanka and Australia and win by a big margin. Rest of us are dependent on other teams and will have to wait for the result of the match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka and the team which plays well by adjusting to the pitch that day will reach the final.
Question: Who according to you is the strongest contender for the title?
Without a doubt, Australia. If you look at their batting line-up, they have a lot of depth, they have multiple all-rounders, in-form players, they have a left-arm spinner, a leg spinner, they have Megan’s experience. Shutt, whose cutter no batsman has been able to read so far. Yesterday she (Megan Scutt) took 3 wickets for 3 runs. Add to this the experience of Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry. Grace Harris and Tahlia McGrath aren’t fired yet. So Australia is the team to beat and they will only lose if they play poorly.
Q: What do you think the impact of the Women’s T20 World Cup will be? women’s cricket globally?
The impact of a big tournament is always big. If we talk about ICC tournaments, World Cup, it does not just impact the cricket playing countries but even the non-cricketing countries get excited and they get inspired to play cricket which is an exciting game. Is. A country like Scotland has not won any match yet but their performance has been impressive, they have defeated Pakistan in the practice match. So this is the effect of T20. You may not see many teams right now, but there will be many in the future. UAE is making good progress. The United States is investing so much in cricket, Canada is building its team, Scotland is playing well. Teams are coming and big tournaments have big reach and impact and in the times to come you will see cricket in the Olympics and everywhere.
