IND-W vs NZ-W, 3rd ODI: Batting in focus for India ahead of series decider against New Zealand

After a crushing 76-run defeat in the second ODI, where nobody except Radha Yadav reached a score of 30, India will look to address its batting concerns and seal the home series.

India women’s cricket team captain player Harmanpreet Kaur. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI/The Hindu

Radha Yadav was many women on Sunday.

She was a ‘Superwoman’ who flew like a bird to pluck unbelievable catches. She was a spinner who dismissed key batters and finished her spell with four wickets.

She has been playing those roles with aplomb for India for some time now. But she isn’t used to playing her team’s longest innings.

She came in at No. 9, with India reeling at 102 of seven, chasing 260 against New Zealand in the second ODI. She was the last woman out for 48, as India crashed to a 76-run defeat. Nobody else reached 30.

This was not just the highest score by an Indian in the match, but in the series as well, so far. That could be a cause for concern for India as it takes on New Zealand in the third and deciding ODI here on Tuesday.

It is not that the wicket at the Narendra Modi Stadium is treacherous. And it certainly isn’t average – the rating given by the ICC for the wicket used at this ground for last year’s men’s World Cup final between India and Australia.

There are runs to be made there. New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine showed how in the second ODI.

Though Devine is someone who would like to smash the bowlers out of the park from ball one – remember her astounding 36-ball 99 for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Gujarat Giants in the inaugural WPL last year? – she chose to play with determination, even as scoring at a strike rate of close to 92.

Devine wasn’t the only Kiwi batter to impress. Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer and Maddy Green also batted sensibly, as had Brooke Haliday in the first ODI.

In that opening game, Shafali Verma’s strokes had helped India score more than 90 in 15 overs, but it had taken a couple of fine knocks in the lower middle-order, from debutante Tejal Hasabnis and Deepti Sharma, to help the team make a respectable total. So, the likes of Smriti Mandhana, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues have to spend more time in the middle.

The bowlers were really good in the first game, though they were less effective in the second. The spin from Deepti and Radha has worked, and the new seamer Saima Thakor has been a welcome addition.

The teams (from):

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Capt.), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, D. Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia, Uma Chetry, Sayali Satgare, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Tejal Hasabnis, Saima Thakor, Priya Mishra, Radha Yadav and Shreyanka Patil.

New Zealand: Sophie Devine (Capt.), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Polly Inglis, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe and Lea Tahuhu.