Areas of concern the Indian eves need to address to qualify for the semi-finals
The Indian eves began their World Cup campaign like a Juggernaut on a rampage. They started it with a comprehensive victory over the hosts, England, in their opening encounter.
And suddenly they found themselves on a four-match winning streak having beaten the Windies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka afterwards. They were high on confidence, full of positive energy and raring to take on any kind of challenge thrown in front of them.
Enter South Africa. A win for the Indian women would have meant their direct qualification to the semi-finals. However, the South African eves had other ideas. An onslaught from Lizelle Lee and an all-round performance from skipper, Dane Van Niekerk, totally demolished India. The result was a 115-run loss for India. Their Net Run Rate also suffered in the process.
Next up was Australia. Batting first, India rode on a century from Punam Raul and a half-century from Mithali Raj to post a total of 226/7 on the board. Moreover, Raj had also achieved the personal milestone of becoming the first woman cricketer to score 6000 runs in ODI cricket. However, the total didn't turn out enough to defend as Australia romped home with eight wickets in hand.
As a result, their NRR suffered further and now they will be playing a virtual quarter-final against the New Zealand eves on Saturday. A win for either team would mean their direct qualification to the semis.
If India want to win their clash against the Kiwis on Saturday, there are certain problems that need to be fixed. It will be very difficult for them to progress further in the tournament without solving these issues.
Jhulan Goswami needs to step up
Jhulan Goswami, the leading wicket-taker in women’s ODIs, is the spearhead of the Indian pace attack. However, she hasn't been able to prove her worth in this tournament so far. She has registered only four wickets in six matches and her economy rate of 4.72 has been way more than her career economy rate of 3.24.
It was only against Pakistan and Sri Lanka that she mustered impressive figures of 1/12 and 2/26 respectively. However, she had been totally ineffective against England, West Indies, South Africa and Australia. Now, it is very important for her to step up against a side like New Zealand.