Taking on the world

The bugle is all set to be sounded from the Barsapara stadium with a clash between co-hosts India and Sri Lanka, with both teams looking to set the tone for their Women’s ODI World Cup campaigns with a win on Tuesday.

Entering the tournament after a tight series defeat against Australia, India will look to ride the confidence gained from the engaging contests against the world champions and from their earlier tour to England where they won both the ODI and T20I series. Currently world No. 3, India sit behind only Australia and England in the ODI rankings.

India had a few big takeaways from the recent series, especially when it comes to the performance of vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and the team’s recent experiment in bowling. Smriti has scored four centuries, including the back-to-back knocks against Australia, this year. She averages 66.28 with a strike rate of 115.85. The team’s young opener Pratika Rawal also vindicated her selection over Shafali Verma as she has given solid support to Smriti so far.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka are making a return to the event after missing out on qualification in 2022. The 20-year-old all-rounder Dewmi Vihangawill will be looking to make the most of the home advantage as five of their league matches are scheduled at home while the Indian conditions are also similar, making things more comfortable for the Sri Lankan team.

Experienced side

Looking for their first ever title, the Indian side will not just be relying on Smriti. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, making her fifth World Cup appearance, will be carrying a lot of hope in the middle-order. She comes into the event having scored a ton against England. The responsibility to hold the innings together in the middle order will also be on Jemimah Rodrigues, who is expected to join the squad after an injury, and Harleen Deol. All-rounder Amanjot Kaur is also available for selection after an injury lay-off. Richa Ghosh, the power hitter, has to fulfil the task of adding depth to the batting.

“There’s no such pressure (of being one of the hosts). We had some good warm-up games, we are excited to play the World Cup in home conditions, can’t ask for more as a cricketer,” said Harmanpreet.

In the bowling department, the team is heavily relying on spinners, with an experienced line-up of Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav and Sneh Rana, along with N Sree Charani. The return of senior pacer Renuka Singh will also help the young Kranti Goud.

“The spinners have always been our biggest strength. But we need to pick our squad according to the conditions. The bowlers have really stood up on certain occasions, and they are ready. The venue is kind of new for us, but we can adapt once on the field,” the captain said. “We played T20 matches here in 2019. The Indian conditions usually remain the same. The dew is another factor we need to assess. The squad is fit, and we are excited to start our campaign,” she added.

Playing good cricket

Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu stressed on the need for playing good cricket over relying on the home advantage. The side’s young sensation Dewmi hogged the limelight in the tri-series also involving India and South Africa, where she took 11 wickets, including a match-winning 5/43 against SA, to finish as the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker.

“This is the first time Sri Lanka is co-hosting. Playing in the subcontinent is an advantage because India and Sri Lanka have similar conditions. But if we think too much about it, we won’t do well. If we can make the semifinals, that will be a really good achievement for us. Then we can take it from there. In short, we have to play good cricket,” said the skipper.

“We’ve been playing really good cricket in the last 12 months. India are favourites, they know the conditions well. We just want to play our best cricket without putting too much pressure on our shoulders. If we execute well, we can win. India is an experienced side,” she added.

However, the team hasn’t played any international cricket since April. “We haven’t played any international cricket after the tri-series, but we had a good domestic season. We defeated South Africa, lost the final to India. Overall, we played really good cricket. We have five games on our home soil, and we know the conditions better than anyone. But still, we have to play our best cricket. As a bowling and batting unit, we need to click together,” said the captain.