Indore, Oct 18 As India enters a critical stretch of their 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup campaign through their high-stakes clash against England at the Holkar Stadium on Sunday, off-spin bowling all-rounder Deepti Sharma said the team has chalked out specific plans for the remainder of the competition, which in turn will help them stay in contention for the semi-finals.
Hosts’ India are set to be back in action after a week’s breather, and with them at fourth place in the points table from four games, they need to win their remaining three clashes to have a strong chance of entering semifinals.
“It was a very good break. We have to realise about how we can make better plans. As a team, we did a lot of bonding and activities. We also enjoyed a bit at the same time, apart from making the plans. We had some training and had a relook at our plans, and so, we have made some plans accordingly so that we can execute the rest of this World Cup,” said Deepti in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
Apart from India having a huge dot ball percentage issue, their batters have been circumspect in facing left-arm spinners. So far, left-arm spinners like Inoka Ranaweera, Sadia Iqbal, and Nonkululeko Mlaba have shown the vulnerabilities in the Indian batting line-up against this type of bowling.
Deepti stated the Indian team has been doing specific practice to improve their plans for facing left-arm spinners. Against England in Indore, they will be challenged by left-arm spinners Sophie Ecclestone and Linsey Smith.
“All the practice sessions that we have done were specifically on the bowlers (we will face) - whether it is a left-arm spinner or an off-spinner. We have practiced as much as we can as a bowling unit and as a team. So, we have worked a lot on those things.”
“As you can see, we had a series against England (in July). So, we had a lot of positive takeaways and won there as well (the ODI series by 2-1). So, it's about how you play as a team on a particular match day, and now that we are back, we can come again and get better in our play,” she added.
It also helps that Deepti has a huge familiarity with England’s line-up, thanks to international contests and Women’s Premier League (WPL) games. In her franchise UP Warriorz, Deepti shared the dressing room with Sophie, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, and Lauren Bell.
“I know how their bowling and batting set-ups are, as I have played a lot of matches against them. I also know that my plan is straightforward, as it's about how much I can enjoy being in a game. Whatever the situation is, I always enjoy myself. I always want to do well, so I enjoy it. I read the situation well and always look at how I can improve as a team. So, I keep everything simple,” she said.
Deepti also backed skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to come good against England, citing that she still has the ability to win a game out of nowhere. Harmanpreet has endured a poor run in the World Cup so far, amassing only 71 runs in four games. In the run-up to Sunday’s clash, Harmanpreet had been sweating it hard in the practice sessions.
“I have no doubt about that. The way she is batting, she can change the match anytime. You must have seen the ODI series that we played in England. She made a century in the last match. She is a good player, and we are supporting her. She has such a good playing ability. I am sure that she will win the match for us, and we are very positive about it.”
Sunday’s game will be the first and last time India will play at the Holkar Stadium, with the venue expected to be an absolute sell-out. Deepti said they took notes from how the first two games at the stadium went, especially when Australia outclassed New Zealand by 89 runs.
“The last match that we saw, the one between Australia (against New Zealand), we saw that the wicket was a bit different in the first 15-20 overs. So, we made plans accordingly. We are very positive in our team about how we can back each other and how we can win tomorrow's match and take two points - that's what we are thinking.”
“I would say that we have to trust our team. We are backing everyone to come good, and it’s just that whatever we have done well in the first two games, the same has to be implemented in tomorrow’s clash,” she said.
Deepti signed off by being non-committal over India's fielding six bowling options against England. “I can't tell you that, as it depends on the management and how they are thinking about tomorrow's wicket. It is totally up to them. But, yes, whatever the five or six bowling options are, we have to do well within them. We are not thinking that it will be like this or that. Our plan, whatever we have discussed in the meeting for this, we are aiming to apply that.”
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