Indian women’s team will try to do well by taking lessons from mistakes
Having already lost the series, the Indian women’s cricket team will look to learn from their mistakes and capitalize on crucial opportunities in the fifth and final T20 International against Australia here on Tuesday. India have so far given a tough challenge to Australia but have not been able to achieve success except winning the match that stretched till the Super Over. Australia’s champion team has been able to overcome the pressure created by the Indian team in all the matches so far. Australia’s top order performed brilliantly in the first two matches but after that the Indian team faltered in its top order in the next two matches.
In such a situation, middle-order batsman Alice Parry played an important role and won her team. Playing Australia ahead of the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February is good for India’s preparation. Reigning world champions Australia have exposed the weaknesses of the Indians in open, be it letting more balls go empty, poor fielding or lack of sharpness in bowling. Shafali Verma will lead the Indian team in the first Under-19 World Cup next month and she needs to improve her batting.
Jemimah Rodrigues is once again in a position where she has to play to defend her position. He failed in the last four matches. India have got a good finisher in young Richa Ghosh but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur in the middle order can do better if she gets good support from the other end. Apart from spinner Deepti Sharma, no other bowler has been able to impress in bowling. The spearheads of the bowling in the last six months, Renuka Singh and Anjali Sarwani have been able to perform well in patches.
As far as Australia is concerned, it will leave no stone unturned to win the series 4-1. Vice-captain Tahlia McGrath informed on the eve of the match that captain Alyssa Healy would not be fit in time for the match. Healy retired hurt on 30 during the fourth T20 due to a leg injury. Beth Mooney and Parry have done well for Australia with the bat so far, while spinner Ashleigh Gardner has played her role well in bowling.
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), D’Arcy Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Elna King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry , Megan Schutt and Annabel Sutherland. India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shefali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Renuka Singh Thakur, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarwani, Devika Vaidya, S Meghna, Richa Ghosh and Harleen Deol. The match will start at 7 pm Indian time.
