Smriti’s ton in the series decider and performances of newcomers Saima, Priya and Teja are the positives for the Harmanpreet-led team; Yastika’s glove-work, batting catch the attention
Smriti Mandhana was almost apologetic. When she spoke to reporters on Tuesday night, shortly after scoring a series-winning hundred for India against New Zealand, the most stylish batter in women’s cricket was self-critical, for leaving so many balls alone.
It was her captain and partner for the third wicket, Harmanpreet Kaur, who assured her that it was alright to play like that. Smriti may have wanted to score at a faster rate, but if she hadn’t stayed long enough, India may have struggled to chase New Zealand’s 232. She may not enjoy doing it too much, but India will benefit from more such knocks in the future, not just from her, but some of the others from the top and the middle-order as well.
Radha’s heroics
Lack of innings like that had hurt India in the second ODI, in which the batters flopped, leaving No. 9 Radha Yadav — after flying in the field like a Superwoman to take incredible catches, apart from claiming four wickets — to top-score and reducing the margin of defeat a bit (the host lost by 76 runs still).
Even in the first match that India won, no batter could make a fifty. In next year’s World Cup, which could be played on surfaces like this, India needs more innings like Smriti’s.
So the Indian team management should be happy with the ease and confidence with which India
chased down what was a competitive total put up by New Zealand.
There were more positives for India from the three-match series that came right after the disappointment of the T20 World Cup in the UAE, such as the performances from the three debutants — Saima Thakor, Priya Mishra and Tejal Hasabnis.
Fine option
They showed they belonged. The 28-year-old Saima has emerged as a fine option in seam bowling.
Tejal is a year younger, and she was India’s highest scorer in the victory in the first ODI. She looked a confident player against a quality attack.
Priya is much younger. The 20-year-old leg-spinner seems an exciting prospect. Her dismissal of the New Zealand captain Sophie Devine with a googly was one of the highlights of the series. As a wrist spinner, she could get even better with experience. Yastika Bhatia’s work behind the wicket also merited attention, as did her knock in the deciding game.
The series victory, that too against the T20 World Cup winner, could not have been timed better for India.