Plenty to ponder for the Women in Blue

Lone battle: Smriti will need a bit more support from her fellow batters.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

Doubts over Harmanpreet Kaur’s availability, middle-order muddle and sloppy fielding have left India with plenty to ponder ahead of its series-deciding women’s T20I fixture against the West Indies.

Despite starting the three-match series on a winning note, the Women in Blue lost the plot in the second fixture, allowing the visitor to draw level.

With heavy dew settling in, none of the Indian bowlers could pose any threat as Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph went on a rampage.

In the last couple of games at the DY Patil Stadium, toss has been a factor, and with hardly any turnaround time, the home team needs to regroup and fix the weak links.

While it has been a remarkable outing so far for stand-in-captain Smriti Mandhana — with a couple of fifty-plus scores — the middle-order has been inconsistent, and Harmanpreet’s absence has only made matters difficult.

In the last game, India elevated the seasoned Deepti Sharma to ‘provide a cushion’ to the young and inexperienced batters like Raghavi Bist, but she failed to make an impact. Things would have gone haywire for India had Richa Ghosh not come up with that quick cameo; and in the series-decider on Thursday, India needs to be more proactive with power-hitting.

Despite an impressive start to the series, medium fast bowler Titas Sadhu struggled and as West Indies captain Matthews aims to win a series in India for the first time, the Indian bowlers need to step up and think out of the box to negate the dew factor.

The teams (from):

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Capt.), Smriti Mandhana, Nandini Kashyap, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Deepti Sharma, Sajeevan Sajana, Raghvi Bist, Renuka Thakur, Priya Mishra, Titas Sadhu, Saima Thakor, Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav.

West Indies: Hayley Matthews (Capt.), Shemaine Campbelle, Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Nerissa Crafton, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Shabika Gajnabi, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Rashada Williams.

Match starts at 7:00 p.m.