India’s Women’s T20 World Cup semifinal hopes remain in threat despite Pakistan win; Mandhana defends sluggish batting
India survived a scare on Sunday evening at the Dubai International Stadium in their six-wicket win against Pakistan.
This was just a day after they suffered a shocking 58-run defeat against New Zealand in the Women’s T20 World Cup opener at the same venue. The win did keep India alive in the race to make the semifinal from Group A, but only by a bare margin.
On a hot afternoon in Dubai, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, with the aim to put India under pressure with a strong total on the board, and give themselves a chance to inch closer to the semis after a stunning win against Sri Lanka in their opener on Thursday, opted to bat first. However, Arundhati Reddy and Shreyanka Patil, who picked five wickets between themselves, helped India fold Pakistan for just 105 for eight.
For India, the equation was simple, get a win by a huge margin. Why? The team lost by 58 runs against New Zealand, which left them at the bottom of the Group A table with a net run rate of -2.9. However, India put on a sluggish batting performance in the chase, where only 25 runs came in the powerplay at the cost of one wicket, which only improved to 61 for two at one stage in that game, which itself left their chances in the match hanging in the balance.
India eventually won with seven balls to spare, but it served little or no to their NRR cause.
Where do India’s chances stand after Pakistan win?
A win by a massive margin could have left India at the third spot in the Group A table, ahead of Pakistan, but behind defending champions Australia and New Zealand. But the sluggish chase saw India’s NRR marginally improve to -1.217 which is inferior, compared to Pakistan’s -0.555, implying that they now stand in the fourth spot.
India are still not out of the semifinal race, but another poor batting show in their next game against Sri Lanka, at the same venue, on October 9, could dampen their chances despite a victory. A win in that fashion could only leave India in a do-or-die situation against Australia in their final group game. However, a victory in an emphatic fashion could help their cause to an extent, with New Zealand expected to lose against Australia on Tuesday.
Smriti Mandhana defends India’s sluggish batting
Despite a poor batting show, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, who filled in for injured captain Harmanpreet Kaur in the post-match presentation, defended the team’s ultra-defensive batting approach in a chase of 106.
“Me and Shafali could not time the ball,” she was forthright in her admission. We didn’t want to end up losing a lot of wickets. We were a little calculative. The NRR is in our head,” said Mandhana.