Just read Smriti Mandhana's comments after the T20 series loss against England,and it feels like the same old story for the Indian women's team . top order problem is becoming big headache just before World Cup.
And it’s not like they played badly overall . They won the first match,but then lost next two,making it a 2-1 series defeat . But it was a hard-fought series,and Mandhana is trying to see positive side of it.
She said,"Coming in early and playing series in England,where we’ve a World Cup to play,in terms of preparations, it’s extremely good to do that." And I get it,playing in English conditions is good practice for big tournament .
But the main issue is the opening partnership . Smriti and Shafali Verma together scored only 75 runs in all three matches combined . That's just not good enough for a top team ah.
And honestly,this is where matches are won or lost in T20 cricket . You need solid start .
Few things are clear from this situation:
- Mandhana and Verma have to find their form and give team better starts.
- This loss against England has given them some hard lessons,especially on bowling strategies.
- The pressure is on for World Cup,especially with the big opening match against Pakistan.
What’s frustrating is that Mandhana herself feels they are close to clicking . She mentioned,"We both are timing ball well but unfortunately are not able to contribute in big ways for the team." It feels like they are just one good innings away from getting their confidence back.
Thankfully,captain Harmanpreet Kaur played brilliant innings of 56 not out in the last match . Even Mandhana praised her,saying "Harman when she’s at her best,it’s a sight to watch." We definitely need more of that.
And now all eyes are on the World Cup opener on June 14 against Pakistan in Birmingham . That match is always high pressure,and a good start there could set the tone for the whole tournament.
Mandhana is also hoping for big crowds . She said,"We really need to hype up the T20 World Cup... I'm sure a lot of people will come and watch us play."
But for people to come,the team has to perform,especially the openers . Everyone knows their talent,but that potential needs to turn into runs on board now…
