Women’s T20 World Cup Analysis: India finally breathes fire into campaign but remains cautious

After two uninspiring outings in the T20 World Cup, the Indian team fired on all departments in the thumping win over Sri Lanka.

An all-round display from the Indian team marked its win over Sri Lanka | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

A good opening partnership? Check.

Middle order firing? Check. 

Tight bowling? Check. 

Top class fielding? Check. 

India’s performance against Sri Lanka in the Women’s T20 World Cup group stage was a much-needed rebound after inconsistent showings in the first two matches. Coach Amol Muzumdar even acknowledged the improvement in a post-match video highlighting the team’s fielding.

In earlier games against New Zealand and Pakistan, India struggled to deliver cohesive performances. The top-order batters, expected to anchor the innings, largely underperformed. Constant changes in the number three spot also added instability to an otherwise strong lineup.

While the bowlers showed promise, fielding errors — including dropped catches — undermined their efforts. Concerns about India’s intent arose, especially after a slow-paced win against Pakistan when there was an opportunity to boost Net Run Rate (NRR). India’s heavy loss to New Zealand left it at the bottom of the standings with a NRR of -2.90. Although the win over Pakistan improved this to -1.217, India’s think tank remained concerned about its negative NRR.

“The conditions are a lot different to what you expect as a batter. You are probably thinking to get that run-rate to climb but you also have to win the match first, and that was the first priority for us. If at all tomorrow we’re in a place where we (can) think about the net run-rate, of course, we’ll be trying to improve it. But winning is the priority,” India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana had said ahead of the do-or-die fixture against Sri Lanka. 

READ | India records dominating win over Sri Lanka to keep semifinals hopes alive

Just over 24 hours later, Shafali Verma openly admitted that everyone in the dressing room was thinking about the NRR situation.

“ Yeh bolne ki baat nahin hai (This isn’t something that has to be told to us). We know that NRR is in play. When you’re playing for the Indian team, you don’t need to be told that you’re lagging on NRR. Everyone is mature and they’re seeing everything. We will continue to focus on it as well,” she said.

India’s PowerPlay approach against Sri Lanka reflected this mindset. Boundaries were scarce, but the Indian openers made up for it with quick running between the wickets. Sri Lanka’s defensive strategy, focused more on preventing big hits than taking wickets, played into India’s hands.

Smriti (R) and Shafali’s 98-run opening stand exemplified India’s approach with the bat against Sri Lanka. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Chamari Athapaththu did not begin with Udeshika Prabodani, choosing to open with Inoshi Priyadarshini’s off-spin instead. Smriti and Shafali communicated well, exploited the gaps in the 30-yard circle, rotated the strike and kept the score ticking. 

Sri Lanka missed the chance to unsettle Smriti early by not attacking her stumps. Their errant lines in the PowerPlay allowed her to settle, and no traps were set to force mistakes from the Indian openers. While Shafali did the heavy lifting with powerful shots over the infield, it was Smriti who hit India’s first six of the tournament, smashing Inoka Ranaweera over long on — three games in.

Athapaththu experimented with her bowlers, searching for someone to trouble the Indian batters but avoided two-over spells early on. She brought herself into the attack in the ninth over, but Smriti kept finding twos through the gap between mid-off and cover. In response, Athapaththu adjusted her field, moving long off to extra cover and the cover fielder to mid-off to cut off the runs. Smriti immediately hit the next ball for four between mid-off and the umpire, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

After Smriti and Shafali were dismissed off successive deliveries, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues — the two no.3s India has used in this tournament —  found each other effectively in the same role on Wednesday night, but the duo adapted.

Harmanpreet needs time to settle in and then get going. Jemimah, as identified by Athapaththu herself, has shown prowess in tackling low and slow wickets (as seen in the Delhi leg of the Women’s Premier League earlier this year). Her 16 (10 balls) gave the India captain the time to gauge what they were dealing with. Once Richa Ghosh joined her, Sri Lanka’s confidence was beaten to the ground with some effortless strokeplay. 

Harmanpreet brought up her fifty off the last ball of the innings, striking at an imperious 192.59 for her unbeaten 27-ball 52. It brought back memories of an unbeaten 48-ball 95 she scored for Mumbai Indians against Gujarat Giants in the WPL earlier this year.

Harmnpreet Kaur (L) scored a beligerent fifty to take India to a dominant total. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

This was the same Harmanpreet who had hurt her neck while trying to ensure her foot was behind the crease in a stumping attempt during the Pakistan game. “I am all right but I’ll feel much better if we play better cricket today,” she had said ahead of this clash. Her actions followed suit. 

Sri Lanka was deflated even before the chase began. Chasing 173 was not going to be an easy task when the team had struggled to string together 100 runs in this tournament on two prior occasions. Gunaratne’s dismissal, courtesy of a screamer from Radha Yadav (substitute fielder for Harmanpreet) off the second ball of the innings, was just the vitamin shot India needed. Athapaththu and Harshita Samarawickrama would fall in the span of two overs that followed, with the writing on the wall nearly an hour before the final wicket would fall for the Lankans. 

India stayed focused, with Arundhati Reddy and Asha Sobhana taking three wickets each in a disciplined bowling performance that slowly ended Sri Lanka’s World Cup hopes. Shafali and Renuka Singh (in her 50th T20I), who have had fielding slip-ups in the past, were sharp in the field and took some brilliant catches. Renuka even gave Radha a tough competition for the fielding award, but Radha ultimately claimed the prize.

“What a win ya,” Muzumdar would say with joy plastered over his face. In the two games that passed, the smile vanished pretty quickly for the gaffer who had seen his side making simple but costly errors previously. So he was quick to point out that the India of the first two games could not and should not be forgotten. 

“For the next 3-4 days, we stay as grounded as possible. We stay low-key. The job is done on the ground. Good teams, solid teams, dominant teams, they always remember their losses.  Yaad rakhna (Remember),” he said in the dressing room huddle. 

The final frontier in the group stage, with the fate of the pool still undecided, is against mighty Australia which has a knack for humbling India when it dares to fly, particularly in World Cups. 

A battered opponent was beaten without much of a sweat, but it’s against the defending champion this weekend that India’s character and capability will face a true trial by fire.