CWG 2022: Playing Sri Lanka after almost three years, India defeated the host in both formats quite comprehensively. India won the T20I series by 2-1, while Sri Lanka failed to win a single match in the ODI matches. It was India’s first series after Mithali Raj decided to halt her glorious career of 23 years. Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian skipper in the shorter formats of the game, was responsible for leading the ODI side and she did not disappoint.
After the 2020 World T20 Final at MCG, where India, playing the final for the first time, lost to Australia, their performance witnessed a dip. India failed to win a single bilateral series post-pandemic after the tournaments were resumed. They lost to South Africa in their own backyard, followed by a series of defeats in England, Australia, and New Zealand. Though there were some silver linings as they did a commendable job in test matches, broke Australia’s winning g streak in ODI, and batting looked much improved in the New Zealand series.
With the absence of Pooja Vasktarkar and S. Meghna, both of them are down with covid, Indian management will once again look forward to the dynamic duo of Shafli Verma and Smriti Mandhana for a better opening start in the CWG 2022. After the 2020 World Cup, Mandhana scored 317 runs with a strike rate of 124 while Verma amassed 266 runs with a strike rate of 127. In the series against Srilanka, on a slower surface, none of the openers got the desired stand they were looking for. Among them, the highest was Smriti Mandhana’s 39 in the 2nd T-20, while Verma failed to reach to 20 runs mark. As India will face teams like Australia, Pakistan, and Barbados, a solid opening stand will make work easier for other batters.
In absence of Sabbhineni Meghana, who batted in No 3 in the Srilanka series, Jemimah Rodrigues could be sent to her favorite position. Though she has yet to find her grove in the ODI formats, over the years she has proved her prowess in the shortest format of the game. Her unbeaten 36 from 27 and 33 in the last series was crucial on the pitch that was not easy to bat on. Jemimah played in the Hundred, last year and has the experience in playing now the defunct KSL. She was the only player to score a KSL hundred for Yorkshire . India can vouch for the ability and experience she gained in the different franchise leagues for a medal hunt this time.
💬 💬 The Indian team is eyeing a Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games: @YastikaBhatia #B2022 | #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/PBxm5TX4U1
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 28, 2022
Along with her, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will take care of the middle order. She has been on tremendous form after her exclusion from the ODI side, in the series against NZ, last February. In the last series, she scored 30+ runs in all three matches and India went on to win two odd them. The third highest run scorer for India after the T20 World Cup will also play a crucial role will the ball. In the series against Srilanka, Indian management has experimented with part-time spinners to boost the bowling option in the side. along with her Yastika Bhatia who has been given a new role as a wicket-keeper in place of Richa Ghosh needs to prove her worth to the side. Bhatia, who is a handy bat in the 50 overs game, needs to step up her game for the shorter format.
India’s obsession with the all-rounders will face a dent as Pooja Vastrakar has been out due to covid. She played a major part in India’s 50 over camping, last March. India will not miss a seam bowling option, but also a batter who has emerged as a specialist pinch hitter in the last couple of years. While India’s spin-bowling all-rounders like Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma have their work shorted out. Deepti Sharma’s strike rate in T-20 has raised a few eyebrows in recent times.
But her ability to keep the batters in check at any time of the match makes her a deadly weapon in the Indian bowling arsenal. She can contain run in the powerplays as well as in the death overs. Besides her fielding abilities makes its quite difficult to exclude her. Along with Rajeshwari Gayakwad, she is the highest wicket-taker for India after the T-20 World Cup in 2020. That too came at a time when spinners, who have been India’s strength for years became their area of concern. Sneh Rana missed the Srilankan flight. And that was not perceived well by her fans. Upon her comeback to the national side, though she did well in the ODI and Test, she is yet to shine with the bat in the T-20. In absence of Pooja Vastrakar, the lower middle order will be heavily dependent on her.
CWG 2022: Harmanpreet Kaur-led Team India hope to give a tough fight to the opponents
Along with this her bowling partnership with Deepti and Gayakwad will be another thing fans will be looking forward to it. Last year against England, the way Deepti and Rana turned the 2nd T20I with their bowling, in favour of India, will be worth remembering, in this regard. HArleen Deol can come in handy too with her fielding, golden arm, and some quickfire runs. She is one of three batters who have scored a half-century in the T20Is after the 2020 World Cup.
India’s spin bowling has been heavily dependent on Poonam Yadav till 2020 in all formats. She alone has turned the game in many instances, be it the 2018 World Cup or the 2020 World Cup match against Australia. As her form saw a decline after 2020, the Indian spin bowling attack seems fruitless. They failed to take either wicket in the middle overs or contain the runs. Gayakwad is the highest wicket-taker with 10 scalps. Along with her Radha Yadav, who has picked up wickets in consecutive matches, one time will be key to the Indian bowling unit. Two offspinners along with two left-arm spinners make Indian spin bowling quite good at least on paper.
A warm send off for #TeamIndia as they left for Birmingham this morning from Bengaluru. 👋👋💪 #Birmingham2022 pic.twitter.com/Z6tcR3jcDf
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 24, 2022
Indian seam bowling attack witnessed a revelation in from Australia series, last year. Young stars like Renuka Singh o Meghna Singh have troubled the stalwarts like Lanning and Healy. Even in the ODI World Cup, their performance earned praise, which continued in both formats of the Srinlaka series. If they continue to do so, even in the absence of seniors like Sikha Pandey or Jhulan Goswami, they can be the force to reckon with.
CWG 2022 India Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Sabbhineni Meghana, Taniya Sapna Bhatia, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana.
CWG 2022 India Fixtures:
vs Australia, 29 July, 4.30 P.M IST
vs Pakistan, 31st July, 4.30 P.M IST
vs Barbados, 3rd August, 11.30 P.M IST
