Cricket fans all over the country are expecting the Indian women to fire big-time when they take on England in a ICC Women’s World Cup match at the Holkar Stadium here on the Diwali eve on Sunday. Many of the players have sought divine blessings by visiting the famous Mahakal temple in the nearby town of Ujjain. Besides, they have also sweated it out in the nets here over the last four days to get into top gear, realising that time could run out if they falter in the crucial match in front of an expected full house.
The hosts will not only need divine intervention, but will also have to get their act together, coming here after losing both their games in Visakhapatnam last week. They have had a long rest and enough time to regroup in order to resume their challenge with renewed vigour in a bid to make it to the semi-finals.
During the pre-match media interaction, all-rounder Deepti Sharma said that the team remains positive as it utilised the long rest period to not only evaluate the shortcomings, but also plan for the remaining games. “Obviously, we have had a look at the shortcomings and had proper discussions, and the team management will take the call [on team combination] for this crucial game [against England].”
The good thing for India is that ever since the tournament started, they have been in the top four of the points table. But if they continue to flounder, that may not be the case and they could then find the going tough when they come up against New Zealand and Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai in their final two league matches over the next few days.
Brilliant in patches
The team has played brilliantly only in patches, and despite being on top many a time, they have not been able to go for the kill. They have been found wanting when defending good totals — 252 vs South Africa and 331 vs Australia. The problem is that they have been playing with only five frontline bowlers to lengthen the batting and that has not worked well, especially in the death overs. The team management, headed by Amol Muzumdar, will have to make the right choice, especially with the Indore pitch having the reputation of being a belter.
The venue has already seen huge scores in two matches so far. There is little doubt that there will be fireworks galore from the batters, weather permitting. So, it will be crucial to bowl and field well if the hosts hope to get the better of England.
The Indian team can take inspiration from their recent showing against the Brits, whom they had defeated in both white-ball series 2-1 on the England tour a few months ago.
Decent head-to-head record
Moreover, they have a much better head-to-head record of 36-41 in ODIs against them, than against Australia at 11-49. Getting past England will be a huge step for them to get closer to the semi-final berth, especially with lower ranked Bangladesh being their last opponent in the round-robin phase.