India aim to gain momentum before semis

Having already qualified for the knockouts of the Women’s World Cup, India’s final league match against Bangladesh here on Sunday will be more about building momentum before their semifinal clash against Australia at the same venue.

India won their previous match against New Zealand at the same venue. Their familiarity with the ground will make them the favourites in the fixture against Bangladesh.

“It’s better to get momentum at a particular venue. Especially, where you have to play all your remaining games. So it’s always better to be at one place,” said Aavishkar Salvi, India’s bowling coach. “Every game is a new test, but the process remains the same. Identify areas, work in the nets, and execute under pressure. We have to see the pitch, and work on the team’s combination for the match,” said Salvi.

The bowling coach also spoke about the ‘phase by phase’ progression of the side. “In the powerplays, we’ve been good, in the middle overs too. There were some execution errors that we identified and have been working on in the nets,” he said.

“In the final overs, we still want to get better. It’s a young bowling attack, and they are hungry to learn every day. The girls are practising with wet balls regularly. When dew comes into play, they already know how to handle it. It’s about execution,” he added.

Renuka Singh Thakur once again swung the new ball to snaffle two early wickets against NZ. “She is a strike bowler. Whenever she plays, she gives us wickets upfront. Her strike rate and economy speak for themselves,” he said.

He also spoke about India’s spin trio of Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana and Shree Charani for adapting well to various surfaces. “Even on wickets that don’t help spinners, they’ve performed as well as the pacers. It’s about quality and mindset. Deepti is a champion player. Whether it’s batting or bowling, she always puts her hand up. She’s worked hard on her stock ball, accuracy and variations,” he said.