Shafali Verma, known for her immense talent, is eager to make a strong impact with the bat after a disappointing start in the first T20I, which the Indian women's cricket team won on its tour of Bangladesh.
India aim to seal the three-match series by delivering another dominant performance in the second game on Tuesday.
In the first T20I, India cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket victory, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur leading the charge with an unbeaten 54 off just 35 balls. Smriti Mandhana also looked dangerous during her knock of 38. The slow bowlers, including debutants Anusha Bareddy and Minnu Mani, impressed alongside senior off-spinner Deepti Sharma.
However, Shafali's quick dismissal for a three-ball duck was glaring, highlighting her ongoing struggle with footwork. Despite being one of the most talented batting prospects in the country, consistency has been a challenge for her, with only one score of 50-plus in the last ten T20I games.
Shafali's last half-century in T20Is came in the home series against the Australia last year, and she had a relatively quiet World Cup in South Africa.
Chief coach Amol Muzumdar is expected to address some technical issues in the coming days.
Facing Bangladesh provides Shafali an opportunity to regain form and score big at the top of the order. The Indian team's performance in the first match demonstrated a significant gap in cricketing standards between the two sides. It would be a major upset if Bangladesh manages to win on Tuesday and level the series.
(AI image)
When Bangladesh batted, the difference in quality was evident, with only Shorna Akter managing to score at a run-a-ball strike rate. India's advantage lies in having a lineup of right-handed batters, allowing skipper Harmanpreet to focus on a specific line on the Sher-e-Bangla track, where the ball sometimes holds up.
Harmanpreet's strategic move of loading the off-side field with five fielders proved effective, as the Bangladeshi batters often attempted to fetch deliveries pitched wide of off-stump to hit on the vacant on-side. Deepti, Anusha and Minu maintained a tight line, restricting the Bangladeshi batters from maneuvering freely.
Winning the toss worked well for Harmanpreet in the opening game, and if luck favours her once again, she might opt to bat first this time, hoping to assess how the batting unit performs while setting a target.
(With agency inputs)
