NAVI MUMBAI: Jemimah Rodrigues was at one of the centre wickets of the DY Patil Stadium, taking throwdowns on a hot Wednesday afternoon. Unlike the previous evening when their training was affected by rain, Navi Mumbai was witnessing excessive heat and humidity. And the Indian team had been training since 1 PM at the venue.
Rodrigues, taking throwdowns in one of the pitches, called upon Smriti Mandhana to watch over. About an hour earlier, the India vice-captain had noticed something with the Mumbai batter’s technique and interrupted to have a chat during the net practice in the B ground. They had an intense discussion for a few minutes and Mandhana watched from close quarters as Rodrigues faced some net bowlers and throwdowns.
Watching from the outside, the chat between the two seemed to be about the No 5 batter’s head position and backlift. Over the next ten minutes or so, Rodrigues got feedback for every ball before Mandhana walked back. After a while, the duo left the B ground together, and walked back to the main ground, where Rodrigues waited for the nets to get free and called upon Mandhana to watch her bat again.
The ritual continued till about 3.30PM before Mandhana took over the nets. She had handpicked the net bowlers herself and batted for about 20 minutes or so. This was at least her third stint in the nets on Wednesday. The Indian vice-captain knew the pressure the team was under. That the entire squad was at the venue for training on the eve of the clash against New Zealand (partially thanks to the rain on Tuesday) reflected their turmoil within.
After three consecutive losses, India are in a very precarious situation. What should be a bigger worry are the manner in which the team bungled. India could not defend against South Africa and Australia and bottled the chase against England in Indore, leaving them with two wins in five games. That too at home. However, not all is lost. Unlike New Zealand, the road ahead is clearer for India. They beat White Ferns and will qualify, but even if they lose they can still beat Bangladesh and go through assuming England beat New Zealand.
For now, however, they should concentrate on Thursday's match. That is what head coach Amol Muzumdar reiterated on the eve of the match. “I think for a home World Cup, there has to be some kind of pressure. But this side is well equipped to handle that. We just go match by match. Of course, the last three games haven't been in our favour. But, hopefully, the next few games will change,” said Muzumdar.
The Mumbaikar said that dropping Rodrigues was not an easy call, but India felt that they needed six bowlers against England in Indore. He also hinted at the return of Rodrigues to the side with India going back to five bowlers. “The conditions in Indore were different and here in Navi Mumbai are different. We'll have a good discussion in the evening, and we'll take a fair call on what we want to do. Maybe the combination will be different,” he said.
With India expected to go with the same line-up they fielded against Australia, the onus once again will be on batters to put on an above-par score so that the five bowlers could defend it if they bat first. However, considering the rain threat on Thursday, expect the team that wins the toss to field first. And with Harmanpreet Kaur’s luck — she has lost all five tosses in this WC – it will be interesting to see what happens.
As far as the batting is concerned, Muzumdar threw his weight behind Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol while backing the skipper to come good in the next couple of games. Through the course of the press conference, the India head coach kept going back to taking match by match and converting starts into centuries and finishing of games — the kind of phrases one keep hearing from him and the team management through the World Cup. However, not much of it has translated into results on the field. Muzumdar referred to the 18-month run India had in the lead up the World Cup, but if they go on to lose in the next two games none of it would matter. As much as he stated positive through the press conference, it is clear that India are under immense pressure. Even New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine alluded to it saying how they were in a similar place three years ago during a home World Cup.
For both India and New Zealand the road is clear. If they go on to win the remaining four games (two league games and two knockouts), the trophy will be theirs. However, the road will always be bumpy and challenging.
