Visakhapatnam: After two defeats on the bounce in the World Cup, India women’s coach Amol Muzumdar has hinted that the management is ready to ponder over the inclusion of a sixth bowler and bring more fluidity in the batting order.
South Africa and Australia handed India identical three-wicket defeats in the space of four days to peg back the home side’s campaign in the ICC showpiece.
“Obviously, after this game (vs Australia) we’ll have a look at it (five-bowler approach) and I’m sure the team management will have a proper discussion about this and then we’ll take a right call as we approach the next game. I’m sure about it,” Muzumdar said in the post-match press conference.
India will face England in their next match at Indore on Sunday, and the time before it could be devoted to getting the team combination right.
Both South Africa and Australia exposed the frailty of India’s five-bowler strategy, targeting the inexperienced pacers Kranti Gaud and Amanjot Kaur while safely navigating through the spinners’ spell.
In the latest instance, the Aussies, led by centurion skipper Alyssa Healy, smashed 141 runs from the 18 overs bowled jointly by Gaud and Kaur.
But they were more watchful against left-arm spinner Sree Charani and off-spinner Deepti Sharma, who were on the money on Sunday, conceding only 93 runs in their combined 20 overs for five wickets.
In that situation, India can think of bringing in left-arm spinner Radha Yadav into the mix if the conditions permit it in Indore or in the subsequent matches in Navi Mumbai.
India’s conventional approach to batting order formation has also hurt them badly in this tournament.
Once Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal added 155 runs in 24.3 overs, India had a chance to exploit the platform by promoting a dynamic batter like Richa Ghosh or Jemimah Rodrigues.
But they stuck to the order of Harleen Deol at No 3 and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at No 4, and both the batters did not exactly do justice to the expectations on them.