India’s defeat in the last three matches against South Africa, Australia, and England have a lot to do with poor shot selection under pressure, leading to batting collapse and eventually failing to close out games. In the match against England, India were placed at 234/3 and needed 55 runs off 52 balls. However, poor shot selection, including a rash loft shot by Smriti Mandhana, led to the collapse.
Additionally, inconsistent contributions from middle-order batters have hurt India’s chances. Heading into their penultimate group stage match against New Zealand, the Women in Blue need to put in a collective effort, including greater stability in the middle order, sharper running between the wickets, and smarter game awareness in pressure situations.
India’s bowling attack has been struggling to find the right balance and variety, with spinners, including Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, and Shree Charani, performing far better than the pacers. Spinners have picked 27 wickets compared to 10 wickets taken by pacers, highlighting their over-reliance on spin attack to control the flow of runs and take wickets in the middle overs. Therefore, the pace attack needs to take more responsibility rather than India relying on their spinners.