India batting coach Das backs India to fire in second ODI

Indian women's team batting coach Shiv Sunder Das on Thursday promised a different approach to counter Australian bowlers and backed out-of-form opener Smriti Mandhana to come good in the second ODI against the hosts.

Published : Sep 23, 2021 16:43 IST

India vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur is set to miss the second One-Day International against Australia to be held on Friday in Mackay. Kaur had missed the first ODI on Tuesday after sustaining a thumb injury.

“Right now, she is not fit, and I think she is not available for the next game,” batting coach Shiv Sunder Das said during a virtual press conference.

Australia gave India a drubbing in the first ODI after restricting the visitor for just 225/8 in 50 overs, and then cruising to a clinical nine-wicket win in just 41 overs.

With batting being a cause for concern of late as the openers have fallen after brisk starts and the middle order has failed to rotate strike at a consistent tempo, Das said that the batters have worked hard in this regard.

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“We have plotted 10 overs for each batter. We are looking at a good start. In the middle overs we are looking at an average of five runs and at the end we are looking at six runs per over, that is our batting plan,” he added.

After pacer Darcie Brown troubled the Indian batters with the short ball, Das said that he had addressed the issue and had identified a few areas and that the difference would be visible in the next match.

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Mithali Raj has consistently played the anchor in the middle-order after the team has had poor starts. However, Das said that the team was young and that the youngsters have to be given some time to get used to the conditions.

“I think the first 10 overs we have addressed the issue. In the middle overs, running between the wickets is an area we are still working on. It’s a work in progress. We have young batters in the side and it’s a good side. We have to give them some time and once they get used to the conditions, they will definitely fire.”

Emphasising on the importance of getting off to a good start in order to have an adequate scoring rate in the middle order, Das said that the team was relying on Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana to fire at the top of the order.

“I’m very positive as batting coach that they’ll give us a good start and once you get that –10 overs, 60 to 70 runs –that momentum we can carry in the middle overs,” he added.

India faces an uphill task in a must-win second ODI against the Aussies, who are on a 25-match winning streak that began against the Indians in 2018.

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