A semifinal berth secured, the unbeaten Indian women’s cricket team would look to address some of its batting issues in the final Group A match against a deflated Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup match here today.
The Indians are on a roll, having easily sealed their semifinal berth with wins over defending champions Australia, Bangladesh and New Zealand. The Lankans, on the other hand, are out of the semifinal race following two losses so far.
And come today, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side would look to end its group engagements on a high when it takes on the islanders.
But the Indians definitely have a few things to worry about, especially their below-par show with the bat, going into the business end of the tournament.
In all the previous three outings, India failed to put on big scores on the board. They managed just 132 runs against Australia, 142 against Bangladesh and 133 vs New Zealand.
India’s unpredictable middle-order has repeatedly squandered good starts to eventually settle for low scores.
In all the three matches, the bowling unit came to India’s rescue and the bailed the side out.
Heavily reliant on the brilliance of a 16-year-old Shafali Verma, the Indian middle-order has cut a sorry figure so far and it’s time senior pros like Harmanpreet and Veda Krishnamurthy step up and take the responsibility.
Opener Smriti Mandhana too has failed to join the party so far.
The Indian bowling, however, has been phenomenal in the tournament so far and played a vital role in their smooth entry into the last-four round.
Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav has been the star performer for India, picking up eight wickets so far. She has been complimented well by the likes of Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Deepti Sharma and pacer Shikha Pandey.