India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been full of praise for her current squad in the weeks and months leading into the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. “There is no shortage of ambition and drive in this team, and we will leave no stone unturned as we look to make a mark and go the distance, playing a fearless brand of cricket,” she wrote in her pre-tournament captains’ column for ICC.
On Sunday, India did well to defeat Pakistan in a clash that clearly matters a lot to both sides. But the way they crossed the line at Dubai raises questions about the approach that the Indian management has promised from this obviously talented squad (one that Harmanpreet considers to be the best that the country has sent to a women’s World Cup).
Chasing 106 to win, India managed to cross the finish line with just seven balls to spare.
The 58-run defeat against New Zealand had already left India in a precarious position in the group, taking their net run rate (NRR) down to -2.90. The win against Pakistan improved India’s NRR only marginally to -1.22, meaning they still have a lot of work to do to reach the semifinals and missed out on an opportunity to create some cushion on Sunday.
India’s Shafali Verma plays a shot during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 match between Pakistan and India at Dubai International Stadium, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP/PTI)
In the powerplay, the number of boundaries that Indian batters hit was a grand total of zero. The only time the ball reached the fence was when Fatima Sana erred on line and bowled a wide that went for five extras. Smriti Mandhana is usually free-flowing but kept finding the fielders. Shafali Verma at one point hit two full tosses back-to-back straight to fielders instead of trying to go over the packed in-field. At the end of six overs, India were 25/1 compared to Pakistan’s 29/2.
India’s tactical calls were also headscratchers. After the musical chairs for the No 3 position all year, they made a surprise call to promote Harmanpreet, starting from the warm-up matches as well as the tournament opener against New Zealand. It was a debatable decision in the first place because Harmanpreet is known to be a slow starter who can go big once she gets set. But having made that decision, all it took was one match for the management to go back on it. Jemimah Rodrigues, who has been batting at No 4 and No 5, came back to take the spot at No 3. If they did want to experiment, wouldn’t it have made sense to promote a big hitter in that role in a match where they evidently needed an NRR boost?
Jemimah did what she does best by staying busy at the crease. But after promising “fearless cricket” at every possible opportunity, India played it safe at every possible turn in the run-chase. Perhaps after the defeat to New Zealand, all that they wanted was the safety net of two points.
While the pitches in both Dubai and Sharjah haven’t been easy for run-scoring so far, it was India’s overcautious approach that raised eyebrows. While it is easy for fans to get carried away by run-rate equations too soon sometimes, quite a few of the experts calling the game were left baffled too.
Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir questioned India’s intent in running between the wickets as did Anjum Chopra, who was left bemused in that same over when Jemimah-Shafali combo missed out on a chance to run two after finding a deep pocket on the off side. Shortly after the drinks break, Australian legend Mel Jones came on air and started off by saying “Riddle me this”, before asking former India coach WV Raman if this approach surprised him too. Shortly after, there was a montage of visuals where Shafali was barely showing any intent at the non-striker’s end which often saw India miss out on chances to put pressure on Pakistan’s fielding with their running between the wickets.
“We could have done with a better start with the bat, but we will take this,” vice-captain Mandhana said after the win. “We were thinking about NRR but Shafali and I weren’t able to time the ball well. So we didn’t want to get to a place where we were chasing the game and putting us under pressure later. We were a little calculative. Yes, the NRR is in our head,” she said.
Winning against Pakistan at a World Cup, under any circumstances, is not to be scoffed at. Even in the women’s game, where the rivalry doesn’t quite carry the same baggage and history as it does for the men’s equivalent, any Indian cricketer would tell you playing Pakistan in an ICC event is a special occasion. But perhaps in the short-term quest for a win, India lost sight of the bigger picture. How much will it cost them in the end game? We’ll know in a few days after the match against Australia in Sharjah if it indeed comes down to small margins in this tough group.
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