3 Indian players who flopped in their 2024 Women's T20 World Cup clash against New Zealand ft. Smriti Mandhana
After fairly comfortable wins in each of their two warmup matches ahead of the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup, India were among the favorites to go all the way in the tournament. However, the Women in Blue suffered a terrible setback to open the league stage as they went down to New Zealand by 58 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday, October 4.
India were never in the game as New Zealand's top order made the most of some poor bowling and lackluster fielding to put an imposing score on the board. It was a wholly forgettable display from India, particularly in the chase, where Harmanpreet Kaur’s 15 was their highest individual score.
Needless to say, there were plenty of names who endured poor outings in Dubai. On that note, here are three Indian players who flopped in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup clash against New Zealand.
#3 Smriti Mandhana
As the vice-captain of the side, Smriti Mandhana is expected to lead from the front both at the crease and on the field. However, she has been found wanting on both fronts far too often in the recent past.
Mandhana was a few yards off the long-on boundary, a careless decision which cost India six runs and a wicket. She was also rather poor moving across the turf, with boundaries being hit only a couple of yards on either side of her.
It seemed like Mandhana had fixed her issues against off-spinners, but she fell victim to a terrible error of judgment in the second innings. The left-hander tried to clear long-off even though a fielder was stationed at the ropes and holed out in the deep to leave India in plenty of trouble in the powerplay.
Senior players like Mandhana really have to step up if India are to achieve anything in ICC tournaments.
#2 Richa Ghosh
Arguably the team's best T20 batter right now, Richa Ghosh was expected to somehow bail them out of trouble in the chase after a top-order collapse. While her single-handedly taking India over the line was a rather unrealistic possibility, she could have salvaged their net run rate to a certain extent with a breezy cameo.
However, Richa struggled to time the ball out in the middle. Her 19-ball stay at the crease yielded only 12 runs, and she failed to find the boundary even once. It seemed like the keeper-batter was seriously struggling to get accustomed to the pace of the wicket.
Richa also put down a dreadfully simple catch in the first innings. Her keeping has improved marginally over time, but it doesn't seem to be doing so at the rate India need it to, particularly with a tidy option like Yastika Bhatia on the bench.
#1 Deepti Sharma
Another senior player who failed to deliver against New Zealand, Deepti Sharma had a miserable outing with both bat and ball in Dubai.
Deepti conceded 45 runs in the four overs she bowled, with her lines and lengths being all over the place. An off-spinner who is usually great at ascertaining what pace she needs to bowl, she was found wanting on that front as well.
Batting at No. 6, Deepti nearly hold out early in her innings as she hit a full-toss straight to mid-on, where the fielder grassed the chance. It didn't matter in the larger context, however, as the left-hander soon found a fielder in the circle while trying to go over the top.
Deepti really needs to do better going forward in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup.