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topicnews · October 16, 2024

Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 – Time for India to restart after group stage exit?

Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 – Time for India to restart after group stage exit?

Nervously watching another game and basing your fate on the outcome is probably one of the most unenviable things in sports. For this reason, despite having their bags packed, several Indian players chose not to invest more than three hours of their emotional energy in the New Zealand-Pakistan match, instead only glancing at the result every now and then.

Their hopes grew when New Zealand were held to 110, but they failed when Pakistan fell to 56 for a total. It is the first time since 2016 that India have failed to reach the semi-finals of a Women’s T20 World Cup. Their packed bags were ready to check in as Harmanpreet Kaur’s team will travel to their respective cities before convening in Ahmedabad for three ODIs against New Zealand next week.

Until then, they will have time to reflect on a campaign that never really succeeded. And that is perhaps why this will be more painful than the one in 2023, when they were considered contenders for much of the tournament before being stopped by eventual winners Australia in the semi-finals.

When they stop to think, they need to consider the following.

The mess in the batting order

It’s great to have flexibility and India have tried six different players at No. 3 since Amol Muzumdar took over as head coach in December last year. However, when these experiments did not yield the desired results, the team management backed the experienced Harmanpreet Kaur as a batsman.

In T20 matches since the start of 2022, Harmanpreet has posted a batting average of 94.07 in 84 innings. The plan was to give her the freedom to play the role of an aggressor, allowing Jemimah Rodrigues, originally a No.3, to act as a spin enforcer in the middle.

But a loss to New Zealand led to a reshuffle, with Rodrigues coming in at number 3 against Pakistan, a game in which the openers failed to hit a single boundary in the powerplay when the need of the hour was quick runs to boost their net run rate improve when it matters.

Rodrigues herself had spoken about how batting in a new position had made her approach batting differently. But in a crucial match against Australia, in which spinners Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham and Ash Gardner slowed India’s scoring rate, they missed Rodrigues in the middle as she was again deployed at No. 3 ahead of Harmanpreet. The revolving door at No.3 may not have been the only reason for their exit, but it certainly forced India to deviate from the template they wanted to set.

Mandhana, Ghosh discolored

It didn’t help that Smriti Mandhana had a forgettable tournament. Apart from a half-century against Sri Lanka, she managed just 12, 7 and 6. Mandhana’s powerplay volley has given the Indian middle order some cushion over the years. This happened in 2023; But not this time, and it hurt the team. Scrambled batting plans in the order didn’t help either, such as the decision to field Deepti Sharma ahead of S Sajana against Pakistan as India tried to quickly put an end to the chase.

Deepti was unbeaten on 7 off 8 balls and by the time Sajana, playing primarily as a finisher, hit her first (and only) ball of the tournament to the boundary for the winning runs, India had used up 18.5 overs in a modest chase.

Apart from batting order tactics, India’s individual, spontaneous decision-making also let them down. Like Richa Ghosh, India’s greatest six-hitter, using a non-existent single as extra cover was the need of the hour when big hits and not quick singles were coming.

Or Harmanpreet’s decision to take a single as India needed 14 to win six balls against Australia. It was clear beyond doubt that Harmanpreet was India’s last hope. India lost two wickets in two balls. Even when there was still a chance, albeit unlikely, with India needing 13 for 3, Harmanpreet opted for another single, leaving number 9 Shreyanka Patil with two sixes.

Why camp because of the A-Tour exposure in Australia?

Patil is a competent batswoman in domestic cricket but has had little opportunity to showcase her qualities at the highest level. Okay, she got injured in the run-up to the tournament and needed the attention of the National Cricket Academy, but by simply focusing on skills and fitness camps, India denied themselves a valuable opportunity to send some of the others, like Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav and Arundhati Reddy on India A tour to Australia?

Throughout the South Africa and Bangladesh series, India’s underclass was hardly tested on the batting front. Even when they took a 3-0 lead in Bangladesh, they stuck to the tried and tested. At the time, this may have seemed fair as they were preparing for a World Cup where the same conditions were expected. But it didn’t help that there was hardly any batting time for a lower team for months before the World Cup.

While India’s T20 World Cup preparation – six-week exclusive fitness, fielding and skills camps – seemed comprehensive at first glance, they may have missed a trick by not scheduling a single fielding or training session under lights

That’s perhaps why being in a multi-format series against a quality opposition that featured the likes of Tahlia McGrath, who played an important role in India’s defeat on Sunday, could have given them exposure and experience, that no skill or fitness camp could have offered.

While India’s preparation – exclusive fitness, fielding and skills camps over six weeks – appeared comprehensive at first glance, they may have missed a trick by not scheduling a single fielding or training session under lights. Although three dropped catches against Australia in a crucial game may not have directly contributed to their defeat, it all added up in the end.

So what’s next?

The end of each World Cup cycle inevitably raises questions about a transition. Harmanpreet has been captain for seven years now and has been a key force for change amid a revolving door of coaches since she took over in 2017 (Tushar Arothe to Ramesh Powar to WV Raman to Ramesh Powar to Hrishikesh Kanitkar to Amol Muzumdar).

Mandhana was the captain-in-waiting, similar to Rohit Sharma, until he replaced Virat Kohli, coincidentally after a group stage exit in a T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates – in 2021. Mandhana has enjoyed developing into a top batsman the respect of the players and has built an impressive body of work.

Earlier this year, she oversaw Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s first WPL win. At 28 years old and with over a decade of experience, it might not be a bad idea for the team to turn to her as she gets new ideas from a player who has come of age under Harmanpreet and can build on her good work.

This could potentially unleash Harmanpreet as a batsman as well, potentially adding another chapter to her illustrious career, especially with a 50-plus World Cup to look forward to at home next year.

Shashank Kishore is a senior editor at ESPNcricinfo

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