The Indian women’s team need to show resilience and take inspiration from their recent ODI series, where they had put up a great fight, when they take on champions Australia in the ICC Women’s World Cup match at the YSR Stadium here on Sunday. The hosts will have to put behind them the shock defeat they suffered against South Africa at the same venue two days ago and take on the mighty Aussies head-on in the most eagerly awaited clash of this tournament.
Talking to the media, all-rounder Sneh Rana said that despite the defeat, the team has a positive mindset. “Our confidence remains high. Our plans for the Aussies are clear after the way we gave them a tough fight in the ODI series [which preceded the tournament that Australia won 2-1].” India would have realised that the Australians can be vulnerable on sub-continental pitches from the way they struggled against the Pakistani bowlers in Colombo, before recovering to win. If India can get through their top order, they can prevent the Aussies from posting a formidable total.
But for that, they will have to rethink their bowling combination after they allowed South Africa to get away despite having them against the ropes. They have two pacers — Renuka Thakur and Arundhati Reddy — waiting in the wings. The team management may have to sacrifice Amanjot Kaur and bring in one of them in.
The Indian team management will also have to look at the form of the top batters. Since there is no scope of any replacement as the team do not have a specialist batter on the bench, the same top six will have to hit the straps. Opener Smriti Mandhana will have to regain the form she showed against the Aussies during the three-match ODI series preceding the World Cup, where she scored two centuries and a half-century to aggregate an exact 300 in three innings.
The other concerns are skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues. Hopefully, they are just a knock away from returning to form after they were put through the grind in a prolonged practice session under lights on Friday. The Aussies have won 48 of the 59 ODI clashes against India thus far. Despite the deep chasm, fans would be hoping that India get the better of the rivals and take another step towards a berth in the semi-finals. “World Cup is a different stage and anything can happen. If we stick to our plans and give our best, we can surely overcome the Aussies tomorrow [Sunday],” Rana said, exuding confidence.