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Team India suffered a major setback to their 2024 Women's T20 World Cup hopes as they went down to New Zealand by 58 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday, October 4. The Women in Blue were never really in the game as they were outplayed in both departments and suffered a serious blow to their net run rate.
India had barely any notable performances with both bat and ball. While Asha Sobhana was the only bowler to have an economy rate under six, captain Harmanpreet Kaur's 15 was the highest individual score in the chase. Needless to say, the team made plenty of amateur errors during their loss to the White Ferns.
On that note, here are three major mistakes made by India during their 2024 Women's T20 World Cup clash against New Zealand.
#3 India's fielding was distinctly poor
Fielding has been a source of worry for the Indian women's team for quite a while now. Unfortunately, there seems to be no end in sight to their woes.
Smriti Mandhana was caught lacking at long-on, where a ball went over her head to hit the boundary cushions on the full. Her lateral movement was also called into question multiple times as boundaries were hit on either side of her.
Renuka Singh Thakur let a simple ball go right through her hands and into the boundary when it should have been a single. Meanwhile, Richa Ghosh dropped a sitter of a high ball with the gloves on.
The Dubai International Stadium is known to be tough for fielders, but India have been on the wrong side of such displays far too often for it to be attributed to the venue.
#2 India's batters just couldn't adjust to the pace of the wicket
The general consensus is that chasing is easier in the UAE. The effect of dew, coupled with the fact that pitches generally tend to ease out under the lights, have made batting second a tempting option for most teams over the last five years.
However, India fell victim to something strange as they just couldn't adjust to the pace of the wicket in the second innings. Shafali Verma chipped one back to the bowler, while Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma were out trying to play lofted shots.
Even Richa Ghosh struggled to get accustomed to the pace of the wicket before spooning a simple catch. The same fate befell Arundhati Reddy and Shreyanka Patil at a time when the game was essentially over.
India must thus be questioned for their shot selection and adaptability. Instead of trying to force the pace and constantly hit over the infield, the Women in Blue should have attempted to find the gaps and use the pace of the ball.
#1 India's team selection was bizarre
S Sajana and D Hemalatha were never in the picture to feature against New Zealand, given that they didn't play a part in either of the two warmup games, but Yastika Bhatia was expected to slot into the middle order and give India a bit of depth.
However, the Women in Blue decided to field Deepti Sharma at No. 6, thereby going in with both an additional fast bowler as well as an additional spinner. The move didn't pay off as New Zealand ran through the top order before exposing the weak underbelly, something India never recovered from in the chase.
Asha Sobhana justified her selection ahead of Radha Yadav with a tantalizing spell, but India really should have sacrificed one of their fast-bowling all-rounders for an additional batter.
