India look to put up better show against Pakistan in CWG

BIRMINGHAM: Ater squandering a chance to win their first Group A match against Australia, India will be seeking beter show in bating and bowling in a crucial game against Pakistan at Edgbaston on Sunday.

Touted as a match of catching a wide public interest due to the large number of Indian and Pakistani-origin people residing in the city, expect the stadium to be a full house when Harmanpreet Kaur and Bismah Maroof lead their respective teams on the field in a match where the future of their campaign in the tournament hinges heavily.

A win for either of them means the chance for a medal will be alive while a loss would put either of the teams on the brink of an early exit from the competition. On a sunny Friday, as women’s T20 cricket made its debut in the Commonwealth Games, India, captain Harmanpreet led the way with the bat, making 52 off 34 balls and was supported by opener Shafali Verma’s 48 off 33 balls in posting 154 on board.

India were given a real chance to win when pacer Renuka Thakur took 4-18, bowling away Australia’s top four bating line-up of Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning and Tahlia Mcgrath. At 49-5, India had a real chance of victory.

But apart from Renuka and Deepti Sharma, India’s bowling made errors in line and length as Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris and Alana King took Australia to a come-from-behind win.

If India are to keep themselves alive in the competition, they will need beter efforts from bowlers like Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav and Meghna Singh to stop the Pakistan baters from geting huge runs. They might look at geting experiencedall-roundersnehranabackintheeleven to strengthen themselves in bating and bowling with pace all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar yet to arrive in Birmingham due to being infected with Covid-19.

Similarly, in the bating department, they would want for Mandhana to convert her start into a big score and for Yastika Bhatia as well as Jemimah Rodrigues to maintain the tempo of the scoreboard.

Just like India, Pakistan also had to suffer a loss in their opening match, being defeated by 15 runs from Barbados. Veteran all-rounder Nida Dar holds the key for Pakistan, seen from her unbeaten 50 off 31 balls when other baters failed to hang around at the crease. Bismah and other baters will have to get going to put some runs on board.