New Delhi, February 24
India’s semifinal defeat against Australia in the T20 World Cup has raised many questions. One of the talking points is the team’s poor fielding standard, which has prompted former captain Diana Edulji to question the players’ fitness levels.
Shafali Verma dropped Beth Mooney at long on when the Australian opener was on 32. She went on to score 54 runs off 37 balls. Meg Lanning, who scored an unbeaten 49 runs off 34 balls, was let off twice after wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh dropped a catch and missed a stumping chance. There were a lot of misfields as well.
Edulji said that the poor standard of fitness was responsible for the team’s ordinary fielding and running between the wickets.
“The World Cup-winning U-19 squad looked much fitter and sharper on the field. I bet most of the senior cricketers will not be able to pass the yo-yo test. With poor fitness, one can’t expect the players to field well,” Edulji said.
Harman’s casual running
Harmanpreet Kaur’s run out was the turning point of the game and Edulji felt the skipper was casual while running the second run before her bat got stuck in the ground.
“She is thinking the bat got stuck but if you see the second run she was jogging. Why are you running in a relaxed manner when you know your wicket is so important? You have to play professional cricket to win. Look at the dive (Ellyse) Perry made to save those two runs. That is what professionalism is. They don’t give up till the end and we are not ready to fight at all,” she added.
Australian class
Australia’s star all-rounder Ash Gardner said that her team’s supreme fielding made the difference in the match. Australia’s catching and desperation in the field was a cut above during the do-or-die clash.
Tahlia McGrath and Perry held on to outfield catches late in India’s run chase, while two runs outs highlighted what was yet another excellent fielding performance from Meg Lanning’s side. On two occasions, Perry flung her body to save all but certain boundaries.
“I think we showed our class in the field and we always speak about being the best fielding team in the world, and I think we really showed that,” Gardner said. “Perry was elite on the boundary and she probably saved six runs. To think whether it’s dropped catches, missed opportunities in the field, those ultimately add up to quite a lot of runs,” she added.
It is that edge in the field that still ensures Australia have their neck ahead of the opposition teams. “We have performance indicators and there’s markers that show us whether we’re positive or negative in the field. After a game, we know that if we’ve fielded badly, we could be minus-10, or if we’ve fielded really well, we’re plus-six. And we do it for both sides,” she said.
Gardner credited the players’ fitness for their excellent fielding. “Something we really pride ourselves on is being fit, being strong. And ultimately that’s one of the things that has an impact in the field,” she said. — Agencies
Talking points of India’s downfall
Strike rate of batters
Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had strike rates of less than 110 in the tournament. In the modern game, anything less than 130 is not considered good enough. Smriti Mandhana batted at a strike rate of 138.5 but was not consistent.
Spinners disappoint again
Not so long ago, the spinners were considered as the team’s biggest strength but they looked pedestrian in the World Cup. Rajeshwari Gayakwad went wicketless in the tournament while Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav too failed to rise to the occasion in the games against England and Australia. Renuka Singh was the lone bright spot in the pace department with Shikha Pandey not doing anything noticeable in her comeback event.
Permanent coaches
The BCCI could do away with the trend of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) coaches working with the women’s team on a short-term basis. Troy Cooley was the fast bowling coach at the NCA before he was attached with the Indian team for the World Cup. Hrishikesh Kanitkar was appointed as the batting coach two months before the World Cup with head coach Ramesh Powar being removed and sent to NCA as part of a “restructuring process”. The board must appoint full-time coaches going forward so they have enough time to execute their plans for the team.
Knockout woes
The final appearance at the 2017 ODI World Cup revolutionised women’s cricket in India. The national team was expected to build on that result and challenge the hegemony of Australia but six years later it continues to wait for an elusive world title. India found themselves in familiar territory in the semifinal against Australia yesterday. They were on course for a famous win but following a bizarre run out of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, they imploded. Since the 2017 final loss against England, India’s defeats in knockouts have come in the 2018 T20 World Cup semifinals (against England), the 2020 T20 World Cup final and last year’s CWG gold medal match (both against Australia).
India’s struggles vs Oz
4 Since their groundbreaking win in the semifinals of the 2017 ODI World Cup, India have beaten Australia just four times in white-ball cricket
3 In their last 19 T20I matches against Australia, India have won three and lost 14
12 India have not beaten Australia in 12 consecutive T20I games, losing 10 times. Their last win came in February 2020
1 In ODIs, India have won just once, while losing six times, in their last seven games against Australia
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
