Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], October 13 : Following his side's loss to Australia in their ICC Women's World Cup clash, Indian head coach Amol Mazumdar reflected on the team's batting performance, the dot ball percentage and also spoke on the possibility of playing a sixth-bowling option during their next clash against England.
While an explosive stand of 155 between openers Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal led to a record-breaking score of 330 runs for India, all it took was a relentless masterclass from Aussie skipper Alyssa Healy, who scored a 107-ball 142 to help Australia chase down the highest-ever total in women's ODI history.
India's bowling core today consisted of young pacer Kranti Gaud, who leaked 73 runs in nine overs, spinner Shree Charani, who took three wickets, all-rounders Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana, which brought depth to the spin attack. All-rounder Amanjot Kaur did handle pace duties with Kranti, but India missed another proper bowling option in their line-up, be it pacers Renuka Thakur and Arundhati Reddy or spinner Radha Yadav.
Speaking on playing another bowling option to bolster team balance, Amol said during post-match presser, "After this game we will have a look at it and I'm sure the team management will have a proper discussion about this and then we will take a right call as we approach the next game. I am sure about it."
Amol said that it was a "super batting effort" to have reached 330 runs.
"Of course we would have liked to have another. You can always say in hindsight that if we had another 20 runs, it would be better, but that is not how we look at it. I think there are a lot of takeaways from our batting display today. 330, I guess, was a very challenging score," he added.
On the team's dot ball percentage, Amol said that the team had a discussion about the same following the loss to South Africa and said that while the team batted well during the match against the Aussies, they will have a "closer look at it".
"I do not know what the percentage is. You've been kind enough to tell me how much is it? 48% Yeah, we would like to get it down," he added.
Mazumdar was full of praise for young bowlers Kranti and Charani (both having six wickets, avreraging 32.16 and 23.50 respectively), who have shined in this tournament, with Kranti bowling a fine spell against Pakistan and Charani keeping India alive against Australia, calling their presence "vibrant".
"I think they have been exceptional. You know, if you see Kranti Gaud bowling and today Sree Charani against Australia, against top quality players, she ended up giving what, 40 odd runs in her 10 overs, and picked up those important wickets. I think they have been exceptional, both of them. Young, vibrant in the dressing room as well as vibrant on the field. They were throwing themselves, and we had a good game," he concluded.
Coming to the match, Australia won the toss and opted to bowl first. Openers Pratika Rawal (75 in 96 balls, with 10 fours and a six) and Mandhana (80 in 66 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) laid down the platform with an incredible 155-run stand for the opening wicket. However, India could not capitalise on it a lot as a five-wicket haul from Annabel Sutherland (5/40) and Sophie Molineux (3/75) managed to take regular wickets later on.
After exploits from Mandhana-Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, the skipper (22 in 17 balls, with three fours), Jemimah Rodrigues (33 in 21 balls, with five fours), and Richa Ghosh (32 in 22 balls, with three fours and two sixes) walked the talk with an attacking approach, but could not convert their starts to milestones as Sutherland and Molineux took India from 234/2 in 36.2 overs to 330 all out in 48.5 overs.
During the run-chase, Healy started off proceedings with an 85-run stand to lay down the partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (40 in 39 balls, with six fours and a six). After Shree Charani (3/41) removed Litchfield, Perry came at number three but retired hurt with the score at 154/1. India made a brief inroad in the match, as Deepti Sharma removed Beth Mooney (4) and Charani got Annabel Sutherland (0).
However, Healy got able support from Ashleigh Gardner (45 in 46 balls, with three fours and a six), taking the Aussies past the 260-run mark. When Charani got Healy at a score of 265, it injected new life into the Indian team, who reduced the Aussies to 303/7 in 45.1 overs. The experienced Perry (47* in 52 balls, with five fours and a six) returned to bat and finished the match with Kim Garth (14* in 13 balls, with two fours). Perry sealed the game with a six, with an over left. Healy got the 'Player of the Match' award for her masterclass knock.
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