Until Nadine de Klerk’s devastating six-hitting blitz silenced the home crowd in Visakhapatnam, it has seemed as though Richa Ghosh’s thrilling 77-ball 94 would be the key innings in the ICC Women's World Cup encounter between India and South Africa. But South Africa’s dramatic heist reduced Richa’s knock to a footnote and ensured that there would be some harsh scrutiny of India’s unconvincing displays in the tournament so far.
The eventual margins of victory against Sri Lanka and Pakistan flattered India, whose batting has been way below par so far. Lower-order interventions have saved them, so there was some irony in Harmanpreet Kaur’s team being given a taste of their own medicine by the Proteas.
In nine combined innings so far, India’s big three – Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues – have made just 135 runs from 193 balls faced. The lack of urgency has been as notable as the lack of runs. Against Sri Lanka, India slipped to 124-6 before a 103-run partnership between Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur rescued them.
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Against South Africa, it was 102-6 before Richa, coming in at No. 8, and Sneh Rana combined to smash 88 from just 53 balls. Even in the comfortable win against Pakistan in Colombo, India were dawdling until Richa came in, again at No. 8, and clubbed an unbeaten 35 from just 20 balls.
It begged the question: Why is the one player who seems most capable of muscling the ball out of the park batting so low down the order? As recently as this January, Richa batted at No. 3 against Ireland and thumped 59 off 42 balls. Since then, in 13 innings, she hasn’t batted higher than No. 6. When most teams operate on the philosophy that their most destructive players get to face the most balls, India’s think tank seems to see it very differently.
After the flurry of strokes from Chloe Tryon and De Klerk clinched a famous victory for South Africa – who started the tournament with a humiliating thrashing against England – some of the focus will shift to India’s bowling in the death overs. But the real culprits so far have been the top-order, who have been incapable of rotating the strike or showing any ingenuity. Even relatively brisk starts have been followed by a mid-innings muddle.
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Australia, the world champions, await Harmanpreet and crew next. The margin for error will be significantly less, even though Australia had a huge wobble of their own against Pakistan.
Women’s cricket is now firmly in the spotlight, even with the men playing a Test series. The senior players need to take a leaf out of Richa’s book and turn up on the big stage. Promoting her up the order may not be a bad idea either.
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