09 October,2024 07:11 AM IST | Dubai | Santosh Suri
Harmanpreet Kaur
Nobody would have foreseen that the much fancied Indian team would be under pressure at the halfway stage of the Women's T20 World Cup, after losing the opening game to New Zealand and a narrow win against Pakistan. As a result, tonight's match against Sri Lanka has become a must-win game for them.
They have the dual task of not only overcoming the gritty Sri Lankans, but also improving their floundering Net Run Rate (NRR) to remain in contention for a berth in the semi-finals from Group A. Among teams with a chance of qualifying, only India have a negative NRR, -1.217.
It's not going to be easy as the southern neighbours had stunned India in the T20 Asia Cup final just a couple of months ago. Going into that Asia Cup final, the Indian women were rather complacent and paid a heavy price. Hopefully, they have learned their lesson not to take any team lightly. Any slip up tonight and it will be curtains for them.
Harmanpreet Kaur & Co have to come out firing on all cylinders and not for a allow their opponents to get a look-in. It is imperative for them to pocket two points and also improve their NRR substantially before they run into defending champs Australia in their last league fixture at Sharjah on
October 13.
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As for Sri Lanka, July 28, 2024 is a red-letter day in the history of their women's cricket. On that day in Dambulla, they defeated overwhelming favourites India to clinch their maiden Asia Cup T20 title. The eight-wicket win in the final was so convincing that many believed the Sri Lankan women's team had finally arrived on the international cricket scene and would challenge the likes of Australia, England, New Zealand and India in the T20 World Cup. But, somehow, they have been unable to perform at that level and have lost to Pakistan and Australia in their first two games.
This is the first time the South Asian neighbours will meet again since that Asia Cup final. Sri Lanka will be eager to take inspiration from that win and try to replicate that performance, while India will be looking not only to avenge that setback, but also to register a big win to stay in contention for a place in the semi-finals.
Sri Lanka can be tricky opponents. They have a fairly good line-up, led by the experienced Chamari Athapaththu. She was instrumental in their Asia Cup triumph, bagging the Player of the Tournament award. But she has not fired yet in the first two games and will be keen to finally make her presence felt.
As for India, they have been under pressure since losing their opening game to New Zealand and cannot afford another setback. After their laboured win against Pakistan, they need to tighten up and play to their full potential. It's time for the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, skipper Kaur (if fully fit, having suffered a neck injury during the Pakistan match) and Jemimah Rodrigues to post a big score on the board and put their rivals under pressure. The bowling has been fairly good, but the fielding, especially the catching, has been unimpressive. When the situation is grim and the battle is close, they cannot afford to drop sitters. Each opportunity must be taken if they hope to go all the way.
This will be a test of character as well as capability to rise to the occasion. Hopefully, we will see an aggressive India fight back from here.
Hopefully, the pitch in Dubai will play much better than what it was at Sharjah. In that case, the spectators will get to see some exciting cricket between the South Asian neighbours in much better weather conditions under lights.
