Vizag, Oct 13 India head coach Amol Muzumdar addressed concerns about the dot ball after their loss against Australia in Match 13 of the Women’s World Cup, saying there has been elongated discussion about it in the pre-match preparation.
Alyssa Healy led from the front with a blistering century as Australia sealed a thrilling three-wicket win, chasing down 331 with an over to spare. The victory saw Australia script history with the highest chase in women's ODI history.
India’s bowling unit has come under serious scrutiny following its underwhelming performances in the recent matches against South Africa and Australia. In the clash with South Africa, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side appeared well on course for victory before Nadine de Klerk’s late fireworks turned the contest on its head.
Against Australia, the bowlers were on the back foot from the outset, unable to apply sustained pressure or make crucial breakthroughs to contain the scoring.
"After the previous game, not this one, but the one before against South Africa, we had an elongated discussion about how we are going to approach the batting innings and that was one of the things that was discussed about the dot ball percentage and so far in the last year and a half if we have been playing very aggressive cricket and thought today was a good display.
"Yes, the dot ball percentage has come down but we'll have a closer look at it. dont know what the percentage is," Mazumdar told reporters.
Mazumdar, however, gave credit to two Indian players who are performing like seasoned veterans at the World Cup, Kranti Gaud and Sree Charani. Charani, a 21-year-old left-armer was one of India's standout bowlers against Australia, taking 3/41 off her 10 overs. And while it wasn't Gaud's best return, it's been an impressive campaign so far nonetheless.
They have been exceptional. 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, 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. And we gave it our best in the field.
"All will agree with me on one point at least that our fielding has been very good today. That's a big takeaway for us. They were throwing themselves and we had a good game. Unfortunately, we lost this one. But think to answer your question, Kranti Gaud and Sree Charani has been, they have been phenomenal," he said.
India will explore whether any tactical adjustments are required to avoid suffering a third straight tournament loss, like whether an all-rounder should come into selection frame and how they can do a better job of 'finishing off' an innings.
Addressing concerns about the sixth bowling option in the team combination, Mazumdar said, "After this game we'll have a look at it and I'm sure the team management will have a proper discussion about (potentially promoting an all-rounder) and then we'll take a right call as we approach the next game," he said.
Mazumdar also praised Australia for overcoming an Indian side that also played some quality cricket in the contest.
"Credit to (Australia) they batted exceptionally well. The way they started and eventually ended up getting 330 with one over to spare was a phenomenal effort, I felt. Yes, we tried to build pressure on them, but they've (got) experienced players. They've been playing together for a while. I think almost 10 years they've been playing with almost the same team. So, credit to them. They batted magnificently, I think," he signed off.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor