CHENNAI : AGGRESSIVE.
That is the word vice-captain Smriti Mandhana used to describe how the team would want to approach the rest of their World T20 in Caribbean, after India sealed their semifinal berth on Friday.
The “aggression” that Smriti was talking about is understandable, given how they came into the tournament.
Five months ago, India didn’t look like a team that could hope to win a title in the shortest format. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side suffered defeats in the tri-nation tournament at home and had a below-par performance in Asia Cup (they lost to underdogs Bangladesh twice, including the final). They looked like they lacked hunger. Enter new coach Ramesh Powar, and said “aggressive approach”.
“Before coming into the World Cup, Ramesh sir had told us that you have to dominate in each and every match,” was Smriti’s elaboration. “That is the only mindset which we had in the last three matches. I don’t think it will change in the next match. We will aim to dominate, be aggressive and be ourselves.”Just like how the appointment of Santiago Solari as coach resuscitated Real Madrid’s fortunes this year — they scored 14 goals in four matches under him, compared to five in eight under predecessor Julen Lopetegui — India seems to have shifted their gears with Powar at the helm.
It is interesting how a coach who has never been part of the World Cup in his career can have such an impact. This was evident from the way India began this tournament. A Harmanpreet hundred — the first for the nation — and a Jemimah Rodrigues cameo buried New Zealand. Poonam Yadav and her band of merry spinners did the same the against Pakistan.
A 4-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka in October — even if they aren’t really an opposition benchmark — was perhaps a foreshadowing of sorts. “... after the Asia Cup final, a lot of things happened back home. Everyone had actually thought that we wouldn’t even make it to the semifinals because we did not even win the Asia Cup,” was how Smriti summed up India’s sudden defiance of expectations.
“But I guess everyone was motivated after Asia Cup. We realised that this is the time everyone will be watching, and that we have to prove our point. Because if in 2017 we had qualified for the final (of World Cup), it cannot happen just once. We are a good team. We have such a good bunch of youngsters, and we need to step up in every match. All 15 of us actually went back after Asia Cup, and worked hard on whatever we felt we lacked. Ramesh sir has also been brilliant in the last three to four months.”But India’s job is not done yet. They are two games away from clinching the title, but their last league match against Australia on Saturday won’t be a cakewalk. Though Ireland were never considered as a challenge, India showed lack of intent while batting against them.
With the pitch being damp due to morning showers, India struggled to find boundaries. Barring Mithali Raj’s 51, none of the others looked in control. If they are looking to top Group B, India’s spinners will need to be wary against the likes of Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy . They can play spin better, courtesy a good bit of experience in the subcontinent, and the margin of error against them will be even more minimal.
“We will be looking at Australia as any other match, only because we need to top this group,” remarked Smriti. “We have to think that we are aggressive enough to defeat them. I don’t think it is going to help us if we are thinking about what they do, how they dominate, how they play their cricket. In the end, we have to go out there, bat and bowl and field.”
srinidhi@newindianexpress.com