The euphoria of thrashing arch-rivals Pakistan by 107 runs has lasted barely a few days for the Indian team in the ongoing Women's World Cup in New Zealand.
After a disappointing batting performance saw them go down to New Zealand by 62 runs at Hamilton in their last game, India will be under pressure to get their campaign back on track when they face the West Indies at the same venue on Saturday.
However, the task won't be easy as the West Indies are flying high after winning their first two games - that too against formidable teams like New Zealand and England in exciting fashion.
On Thursday, after their bowlers came back superbly to restrict the Black Ferns to 260 for nine, India's top four batters undid all their bowlers' hard work by consuming too many balls and failing to convert their starts into something meaningful.
Smriti Mandhana (6 off 21 balls), Deepti Sharma (5 off 13 balls), Yastika Bhatia (28 off 59 balls) and skipper Mithali Raj (31 off 56 balls) were all guilty as India managed to crawl to merely 50 in the first 20 overs while chasing 261. Their lack of intent left even the India women's team coach, former India off-spinner Ramesh Powar baffled.
"I think it was one of those days where things didn't go our way and honestly I was also surprised the way we batted for 20 overs. Going forward it is important to show some intent when you bat in the first 10 overs. And if you look around this World Cup, chasing is not easy but it was a good wicket to chase upon and we messed up in the first 20 overs where I was expecting momentum and intent," Powar said at the virtual pre-match conference on the eve of the team's game against West Indies.
After she managed to put just 96 runs in five games at 19. 20 in the series against New Zealand, and then was out for a duck against Pakistan, India finally lost patience with opener Shafali Verma and dropped her in the last game. However, Shafali's absence was clearly felt as India lacked aggression at the top. It also meant that India had an all-lefties top three in Mandhana, Yastika and Deepti, which ma de it easier for the opposition bowlers to stick to a line.
It is a factor which may prompt Powar to recall the explosive Shafali in the XI. "Honestly, Shafali was not in the greatest of form in the New Zealand series. We wanted to give her a break, and bring in Yastika who was consistent. I don't think three left-handers in a row makes a difference in e very match. But going forward, yes, we are going to look at it tactically," said Powar.
"It gives an advantage to opponents to set up the plan easily and the left-right batter combination allows us to get to a batting rhythm. Bowling at a left-right combination is difficult, going forward we will try and address this," he added.
With the West Indies having three off-spinners, the change in the batting order becomes even more necessary. "Not really," said Powar. "Tomorrow, if we have three left-armers against us, will we change the batting order? No. Because I trust my batting unit.
