Shafali Verma on the left and Jemimah Rodrigues on right. (Agencies)
Two of the best batters in the game, both left-handers, world-class openers, and on their day, bonafide matchwinners. And both of them are critical to their sides’ success. There is a lot in common between Smriti Mandhana and Chamari Athapaththu. On Tuesday in Dubai, there was another similarity as the two sat down for their press conferences ahead of the all-important clash between India and Sri Lanka at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Both of them were left wondering about their own batting form in what have been tough conditions in the UAE for run-scoring.
The Asia Cup final rematch on Wednesday will likely decide the fate of the losing team in the tournament. Asian champions Sri Lanka have underperformed so far and are in a much more precarious situation than India, having lost two out of two. But India’s situation is not great either, despite getting off the mark with a win against Pakistan. Having restricted Fatima Sana’s side to 105, India could chase the target down in only 18.5 overs and it didn’t really do them any favours on the Net Run Rate factor, courtesy a huge defeat against Sri Lanka.
Mandhana was once again asked about the side’s NRR. After the match against Pakistan, she had conceded that it was on their minds but she and Shafali Verma couldn’t get going in the powerplay.
“Firstly you have to win the match, that’s the first priority for us,” Mandhana said on Tuesday. “I think it’s a balance between trying to find out what’s best for the team. Of course, you know in the last match I started off fine but then later on I consumed a few dot balls which was a little irritating for me. As batters we have to be really smart, we can’t just go out there thinking that ‘oh we are going to take on this bowling lineup and we are just going to cruise’ because of course the conditions and the outfield is a lot different.”
The conditions came up quite a lot during both the press conferences and Athapaththu spoke in greater detail about her struggles. “I think I have the biggest responsibility as the captain and also the opening batter, I couldn’t give the team the momentum and start in the past two matches. I think I gave the team the start they needed in the beginning in the past several times, I couldn’t do the same in the last two games. I know that my failure has a huge effect on the team,” the SL skipper said. She also spoke about asking questions of herself when she was in the room, wondering why South African batters, for instance, have been able to adapt to the conditions better than her and her teammates.
The focus, therefore, will be firmly on both the batting units in Dubai. Mandhana confirmed that captain Harmanpreet Kaur is fit and available, after walking out retired hurt late in the run-chase against Pakistan, holding her neck as she strained herself to get back into the crease. Her batting position has also been a topic of debate, with India’s top three struggling for starts so far. Even the usually explosive Shafali Verma was struggling to find the gaps in the powerplay.
Mandhana’s message was clear — India need to focus on wins, and only later does NRR come into play. But the tournament format is such that India cannot afford to use the safety-first strategy.
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