Ahead of their crucial clash against Bangladesh in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, India’s players were put through an extended range-hitting session at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Under the close observation of head coach Amol Muzumdar, two throwdown specialists simultaneously fed balls to the batters, who were focused solely on playing big shots. India currently rank second in the tournament for sixes hit, with nine so far. However, only four players have contributed those maximums — three each from Richa Ghosh and Smriti Mandhana, two from Shafali Verma and one from Deepti Sharma.
The session appeared to be aimed at sharpening the team’s power-hitting so that more players can contribute sixes going forward. During the drill, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, along with Shafali, Richa and Bharti Fulmali, showed their power and struck a few massive sixes.
Meanwhile, Smriti, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia and Deepti were also seen finding the boundary, though more than power, it was their timing that stood out. A few of them were also seen using their feet and coming down the track to loft the ball for six. However, two gigantic sixes from Jemimah and Yastika particularly caught the eye as the balls sailed straight into the stands.
India’s batting so far in the tournament has followed a familiar pattern — strong starts followed by a dip in the middle and death overs. Against Pakistan and the Netherlands, despite losing wickets, the Women in Blue still managed to post decent totals. Against Pakistan, in fact, it was the final two overs where their seamers shifted the momentum by conceding 38 runs.
Against South Africa, however, India lost momentum completely after the Powerplay. Having scored 59/2 in the first six overs at a run rate of 9.83, they managed only 63/3 in the middle overs at 6.30, followed by just 36/2 in the final four overs.
Compared to South Africa’s six sixes in their innings, India managed only one — Shafali’s in the Powerplay. For the Proteas, one came in the Powerplay, two in the middle overs and three in the death overs.
The numbers underlined how India’s batters came under pressure once the fielding restrictions were lifted. They struggled to maintain the scoring rate and found it difficult to consistently find boundaries. This is where the range-hitting session could prove useful, helping them carry the momentum generated in the Powerplay into the later stages of the innings.
Another notable aspect of the session was India’s batters trying to hit straight down the ground through the ‘V’. South Africa all-rounder Marizanne Kapp had demonstrated the effectiveness of that method with her match-winning knock against India.
Bangladesh, though, will not be a straightforward challenge. Spinners have enjoyed success at this venue, and India could face a stern test against the quality and variety of Bangladesh’s spin attack. Perhaps the repeated attempts to come down the track and clear the ropes were part of that preparation. Whether it pays off, only time will tell.
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