GUWAHATI: 22.42. That’s the winning percentage of India women against England in T20Is. In other words, India have won only three of the 14 matches against England in the shortest format. India will be upbeat after winning the ODI leg, but the visitors start as firm favourites in the three-match T20I series starting here on Monday.
Since January 2018, India have won the 16 of their 28 T20Is, while the visitors have emerged victorious nine out of 15 times. But digging deep, one will find that the hosts have struggled against the elite — they lost four of the six matches against Australia and England. In the same period, they have lost thrice against New Zealand in four matches.
This lack of success in the shortest format can be attributed to the lack of a power-hitter or two in the line-up. The hosts’ hitting prowess has been confined to Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues. The recent T20I series against New Zealand also established this. Only Mandhana and Rodrigues — it was a one-off bad tournament for Kaur who amassed just 24 in three innings — regularly got runs and the inability of the rest of the of the batters handed the team a 0-3 whitewash. That the team is over-reliant on the three is a different story.
With the women’s World T20 in Australia a year away, the series against England is a chance to test India’s batting strength. “I and (WV) Raman sir have spoken about what we lacked in (the) New Zealand tour and the way our batting order will be shaping for the World Cup next year,” Mandhana, who will be deputising as skipper in place of the injured Kaur, said at the pre-match press conference.
“It is really an exciting time because we have a young side. I think those who have been playing for the past two-three years need to take more responsibility. We have been discussing the batting order. Hopefully, it will come good tomorrow (Monday).”
Kaur’s injury is a blessing in disguise for Veda Krishnamurthy, who has made a comeback to the side. Though Krishnamurthy’s aggressive batting is well known, her inconsistency has been a matter of worry. Apart from her, Harleen Deol, who had an impressive run in the Challengers Trophy, will be in the limelight. She is expected to open in place of Priya Punia, who was dropped after a poor outing in New Zealand. Even though Deol didn’t enjoy the best of starts to her ODI caree Mandhana feels the 20-year-old could be an impact player in this format.
“For the T20s, she is the perfect all-rounder. She can bowl those crucial two-three overs and offers a lot as a batter. She is also a brilliant fielder. Definitely, she will have a huge role to play in future for India.”
With a cloud of uncertainty over Mithali Raj’s career in T20Is after the home challenge, India will need to groom the new players before the big-ticket event next year.