CHENNAI: One week and two games into the tournament, Harmanpreet Kaur & Co were sitting pretty. They had beaten Sri Lanka to open the tournament before easing past Pakistan. Two in two. Easy does it. Some of their match-winners got themselves going and it was all coming together. But there was danger ahead in the form of back-to-back matches against South Africa, Australia and England, the three teams most capable of winning the title apart from the hosts.
And that thought has come to pass. Three close losses (three wickets and seven balls against South Africa, three wickets and an over against Australia and four runs against England) on the bounce against three of their biggest title rivals has pushed India towards periphery at their own party. They are not yet in last chance saloon territory but they need a win against the Kiwis to put ensure qualification to the semifinals if they want to avoid chewing fingernails going into the last round of games.
Post that heart-breaking loss against England, Smriti Mandhana accepted responsibility for the defeat. "We could have done better with our shot selection," she had said in Indore. "It started from me, so I will take it on myself that the shot selection should have been better. We just needed six runs per over. Maybe we should have taken the game deeper. I'll take it (upon) myself because the collapse started from me."
That's the first step towards rectifying small, small errors. The bigger issue, though, lies with the team management and the leadership group. Do they want the extra batter or the bowler? There was a clamour to play the extra bowler against England but when they did that, the effect showed as they had sacrificed a batter.
They will now be burning the midnight oil as it's imperative for them to get the balance right if they are to course-correct on the fly.
When the teams come out for the toss in Navi Mumbai on Thursday - weather permitting - the contrast will be hard to miss. India under pressure on the back of three losses facing opponents whose last full game came on October 10. Since then, they have been greeted by rain. The Kiwis are more than capable but India will fancy their chances even if the likes of Sophie Devine are in form.
100 overs separate the Indian team from a place in knockouts. 100 overs also separate the Indian team from losing the power to decide their own destiny.
