Hamilton: India will take on the West Indies in their third match of the ICC Women’s World Cup in Hamilton on Saturday.
India have played two matches in the tournament so far, defeating Pakistan and then losing to New Zealand. West Indies have won two in two, defeating New Zealand and England in their two games. India are coming into this game having lost to New Zealand in their previous match on Thursday.
“It was one of those days when things didn’t go our way and honestly I was also surprised by the way we batted in the first 20 overs,” said India’s coach Ramesh Powar about India’s batting against New Zealand. India were bowled out for 198, with Harmanpreet Kaur scoring 71 off 63.
Powar said it’s time for the team to deliver.
“If you look back at the last six games we played against New Zealand, we were executing our plans well. I think it is the pressure of the World Cup but I don’t want to give any excuses. We’ve been to England and Australia in the last six months and came to New Zealand early, we got every practice opportunity which was needed. So it is time as a group to stand up and deliver.
“We’ve been improving as a batting unit, we used to struggle to get to 220. It is up to the individuals now. As I always say, it is the players who go out there and face that pressure and come out of it with their own skills and character.”
The coach explained the reasons behind dropping Shafali Verma and having a top order with three left-handed batters.
“We have messed up in first 20 overs, where I was expecting momentum and intent. Honestly, Shafali was not in greatest of form when you see the last New Zealand series. We wanted to give her a break, and bring in Yastika who was consistent in the performances. I don’t think three left-handers in a row makes a difference in every match but going forward yes, we are going to look at it tactically.
“It gives an advantage to opponents to set up the plan easily and left-right batter combination allows us to get to a batting rhythm. Bowling at a left-right combination is kind of difficult for bowlers also, going forward we will try and address this.”
India Squad: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Mithali Raj(capt), Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh(wk), Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Taniya Bhatia, Renuka Singh, Yastika Bhatia
West Indies Squad: Deandra Dottin, Hayley Matthews, Kycia Knight, Stafanie Taylor(capt), Shemaine Campbelle(wk), Chedean Nation, Chinelle Henry, Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Anisa Mohammed, Shakera Selman, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack, Rashada Williams, Cherry Ann Fraser
