Women’s World Cup: India face Bangladesh in must-win contest as semi-final race heats up
India have been inconsistent so far at the Women’s World Cup, winning 2 out of 5 matches so far but neighbours Pakistan’s shock win over the West Indies on Monday has thrown open the race for the top 4. When India meet Bangladesh on Tuesday at Seddon Park in Hamilton, they need nothing less than a victory to keep their hopes of reaching the last four alive.
India are currently at the 4th spot with 4 points from 5 matches, 4 points behind South Africa who are at the 2nd spot. However, with pressure from England (4 points in 5 matches) and New Zealand (4 points from 6 games), there can’t be any more slip-ups for Mithali Raj’s side.
The heavy fluctuations in the batting performance was already a concern and with the ease Australia chased down a record 278 in the previous game, the Indian bowlers also need to step up.
The bowling looked rather flat against the Aussies, who attacked and put pressure from ball one. The move to drop an extra bowling option in Deepti Sharma and bring back batter Shafali Verma also did not work.
Harmanpreet Kaur, who roared back to form with the bat, is yet to be used as an off-spinner in the competition.
It remains to be seen if Shafali will be persisted with for the crucial contest and Yastika Bhatia returns at the top to open alongside Smriti Mandhana.
One positive from the Australia game was captain Mithali Raj getting back among runs. After a couple of quiet games, Mandhana will also be expected to score big on Tuesday.
India find themselves in a tricky spot as they have not gelled as a unit so far and it is something they would have to correct against Bangladesh, who have shown a lot of promise in their maiden ODI World Cup appearance.
“The atmosphere remains positive. After a loss you do feel down but we are in good headspace ahead of the game tomorrow. We will play to win, net run rate remains secondary,” said all-rounder Sneh Rana, adding that they can’t afford to take Bangladesh lightly.
“Bangladesh have reached here by performing. They are always improving. There are no easy games in this World Cup,” she added.
Bangladesh have run most of their opponents close in the four games they have played so far and that includes a memorable win over Pakistan.
Bangladesh failed to chased down 141 against the West Indies in their last game after a brilliant bowling performance and batting is one area they will need to improve significantly.
SQUADS
Bangladesh: Nigar Sultana (c), Salma Khatun, Rumana Ahmed, Fargana Hoque, Jahanara Alam, Shamima Sultana, Fahima Khatun, Ritu Moni, Murshida Khatun, Nahida Akter, Sharmin Akhter, Lata Mondal, Sobhana Mostary, Fariha Trisna, Suraiya Azmin, Sanjida Akter Meghla.
India: Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav.
