Key factors for success on India Women's tour of NZ

New Zealand, the beautiful country where I made my one-day international debut. The Indian team travelled across different venues on that winning tour in 1995. It was the first time that Indian women had won a series on foreign soil. Four debutants along with a few newcomers into the Indian squad rallied alongside senior players to earn the laurels for India.

Cut to 2022, the scenario is similar yet different for the present Indian team. It has a seasoned, vastly experienced captain (Mithali Raj), a deputy who leads the Indian team in the shortest format (Harmanpreet Kaur), and a fast bowler (Jhulan Goswami) who leads the world count as leading wicket taker and is as widely travelled as her other two team mates.

The three players lead the pack along with an accomplished batter and performer (Smriti Mandhana) to form the four pillars of this New Zealand bound Indian team.

Sneh Rana after making her debut in 2014 made a strong comeback last year. She has gone through the grind of rehabilitation after an injury and years in domestic cricket. She knows how to succeed. Deepti Sharma, who continues to grow and learn playing around the world, adds value with her all-round skills. She has been with the Indian team since 2014.

So has been Rajeshwari Gayakwad, the left arm spinner. A player who has risen through the ranks of hardships and has a valuable experience of 40 ODIs. She will carry the mantle of leading the spin attack for India. New Zealand conditions allow the ball to drift in the air and that will assist Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

The ODI series is being seen as a prelude to the ICC Women’s World Cup in March-April. The best thing for the team is that they are early for the mega event. It always helps. Being around the place adds to familiarity in every respect for the travellers.

Queenstown is a paradise. Picturesque! This is where all matches of the series will be played. Sad; the Indian team will have to wait to go around this beautiful country. But good; as no travel means no packing and unpacking. One can spend quality time in the nets and prepare better. Even though no matches of the upcoming World Cup will be played in Queenstown, but even then, acclimatisation is the key.
As a batter, if one keeps aware of the strong wind that one can encounter in New Zealand, one can succeed. The batters prepare to play the ball in the air more nowadays than along the ground and the wind remains a critical factor in the ball traveling to the boundary or to the fielder. Shafali Verma on her maiden tour of New Zealand will get time to prepare for that. She, along with Yastika Bhatia will be have to provide a good start for India. A young left hander, Yastika likes to hit the ball hard. She likes the ball to come onto the bat and hit through the line.

New Zealand are playing at home, with lot more experience and familiarity. It is a day game, as in fact all 5 ODIs are. Will be a very early start for us in India (3:30am) to watch the matches live.