SHARJAH: Harmanpreet Kaur had hardly been this cautious as she was in India's chase against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on October 6.
In an innings that consisted of only one boundary, it looked like her singular aim was to get her team over the line and earn those two points. There has been enough criticism of India's approach, and rightly so. That fixture has complicated India's chances of making it to the knockout stages of the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup.
For now, not all is lost for her side. They still have fate in their hands, even with New Zealand winning their fixture against Sri Lanka in Sharjah with eight wickets in hand. Their next opponents, Australia, are going through two injury concerns — captain Alyssa Healy and Tayla Valemick. That does not necessarily change any plans for India as Australia's depth will potentially allow the defending champions to challenge India. Kaur was clear in her pre-match press conference about the importance of the occasion.
"Of course, it is an important match for us and you need a strong mind to play that game because it is the last league game and we have to keep a lot of things in mindset in this game," Kaur said. "We just have to go there and play freely and enjoy our game. We want to keep ourselves in the present and see what is required for the team and get it done. We would play our best cricket," she added.
That being India's last group stage game, along with Australia, the fate of the group will be dependent on the final clash between Pakistan and New Zealand. If India manage to beat Australia, they would still ideally not want New Zealand coming close to their net run rate. Ultimately, none of these things are in the Indian team's hands. "After us, when New Zealand and Pakistan face each other, that is not in our hands. We don't even want to discuss it," she mentioned.
When India takes to the field at Sharjah, it will be their first time on the ground, whereas Australia has already played two of its fixtures there. India has so far had two practice sessions under lights, yet it will be one of their biggest tests. "From what we saw on TV, it felt like the ball was not holding enough at the ground, but then we had a few practice sessions and it didn't feel the same way. It was nice to bat here because the ball was coming onto the bat nicely. We have one more day of practice at the venue so we can plan better. And then only we will be able to decide on the plans and playing XI," Kaur explained.
One of the most refreshing aspects to watch during India's match against Sri Lanka was the way they approached batting in the first innings. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma set a solid base with the partnership of 98, on which Kaur built with her first half-century of the tournament. With the entire squad available for selection, India would want to build up on the momentum they started in Dubai.
"We planned in detail ahead of that match thinking about how we wanted to proceed because the net run rate has been an issue in both of the groups. At the same time, we were also talking about remaining in the present and not trying anything out of our natural routine just to try something in the match because these pitches are relatively different to what we are used to back home in India. The way Smriti and Shafali gave us the start, was something we planned and we did not lose a wicket inside the powerplay. When you have wickets in hand, even lower-order can bat freely. My job was to score as many runs as I could so we could win that match as early as possible," Kaur said.
The near-perfect game against Sri Lanka in all three departments came when India needed it the most to peak at the right time. Maybe their biggest peak is yet to be achieved and in the scheme of things, the fixture against Australia is vital for them to win.