Women’s WC: India under pressure to fix bowling balance ahead of crucial England clash

Under pressure to revive their campaign after back-to-back defeats, India will have to consider adding a sixth bowler to bring more balance to their attack when they face England in a crucial Women’s ODI World Cup match here on Sunday.

India’s campaign has hit a stumbling block after successive three-wicket losses to South Africa and Australia in Visakhapatnam, results that have left their strategy under the scanner.

The combination of five batters, a wicketkeeper, and five bowlers—three of them all-rounders—has been India’s trusted template through much of this World Cup cycle.

But its limitations have been brutally exposed, forcing a rethink as the ‘Women in Blue’ now stare at a must-win scenario, needing two victories from their remaining three matches to stay alive in the semifinal race.

The five-bowler approach came undone against South Africa, yet the management persisted with it against Australia, resulting in another defeat.

It offered clinching evidence that India cannot afford to field an attack lacking variety and bite against top teams.

The absence of a specialist bowler proved costly as both South Africa and Australia chased down 251 and 330, exposing India’s inability to apply pressure.

India’s fascination for batting depth in the form of multiple all-rounders has made them bench a genuine wicket-taker like pacer Renuka Singh for Amanjot Kaur.

Renuka’s absence has left the attack a bit one-dimensional, and her inclusion could lend much-needed variety and take pressure off the young and inexperienced pacer Kranti Goud, who has shouldered the responsibilities admirably so far.

They also have the option of playing left-arm spinner Radha Yadav or pacer Arundhati Reddy.

But equally worrying for India is the dip in form of their top-order batters. India had entered the World Cup with their premier batters in excellent touch, but the momentum seemed to have fizzled out.

While openers Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal showed glimpses of fluency against Australia, scoring brisk fifties, the middle-order led by captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues has struggled to make meaningful contributions.

India squandered a commanding start provided by their openers against Australia, collapsing spectacularly by losing six wickets for just 36 runs and folding with more than an over to spare.

That trait had put them in deep trouble against Sri Lanka and Pakistan before the all-rounders bailed them out but against four-time champions England the home side will require their core batters to deliver.

This will also allow the team the flexibility to include a sixth bowling option, an indispensable factor in modern-day white-ball cricket.

The conditions at the Holkar Stadium here have traditionally favoured batters, with both matches played at the venue so far being high-scoring contests.

England enter the contest in a more secure position but not without concerns of their own. While they are the only team apart from Australia who are unbeaten so far, their batting has been erratic, often relying on moments of individual brilliance rather than collective application.

They narrowly avoided an upset against Pakistan, rescued by rain after slumping to 79 for 7. It was their second collapse of the tournament following a precarious 78 for 5 against Bangladesh.

While their top-order remains fragile, England’s bowling unit has been disciplined, often bailing them out of tricky situations.

The four time champions require just one more win to seal a semifinal berth and they will hope that ace left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone has recovered from an illness.

Ecclestone and pacer Lauren Bell had missed the match against Pakistan.

Teams (from):

India: Harmanpreet Kaur ©, Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Renuka Singh Thakur, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud.

England: Nat Sciver-Brunt ©, Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.

Match starts at 3pm IST.