"In which direction are we trying to go?" - Anjum Chopra on India's loss in IND vs NZ 2024 2nd ODI
Anjum Chopra has questioned the direction in which the Indian team is headed after their loss in the second ODI against New Zealand in Ahmedabad. She noted that the Indian batting lineup is not learning from their previous mistakes.
New Zealand set India a 260-run target after opting to bat first on Sunday, October 27. The White Ferns then bundled the Women in Blue out for 183 to register a comprehensive 76-run win and draw level in the three-match series.
In a video shared on her YouTube channel 'Anjum Chopra', the former India captain questioned the hosts' batting approach in the second ODI.
"When the Indian team came to bat, it seemed from their body language that they were chasing 320. When you play the first, second or third balls, it should at least look like your bat is striking the ball and you are confident. Shafali (Verma), Smriti (Mandhana) and Yastika Bhatia got out and it seemed like the game would end very quickly," she said (3:55).
"Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues batted for some time but if Saima Thakor and Radha Yadav had not stitched that good partnership, this team would have been bundled out for 140-150. So in which direction are we trying to go? We say the batting order is so good. So is this batting order able to learn from their small, small mistakes? I feel it's a huge question," Chopra added.
India were reduced to 26 for three after five overs, with Smriti Mandhana being dismissed for a duck and Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia losing their wickets after contributing 11 and 12 runs, respectively. The hosts were subsequently reduced to 108/8 before Radha Yadav and Saima Thakor's partnership helped them reach a slightly respectable 183.
"I have seen this team mostly collapsing rather than emerging under pressure" - Anjum Chopra
![Jemimah Rodrigues' dismissal triggered a batting collapse. [P/C: BCCI]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/10/1b074-17300987645250-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Anjum Chopra noted that the Indian players are skillful but tend to succumb under pressure.
"It's not that these players don't have skill. They are very good players. Obviously, if they are playing for India, they would have reached here after doing some things consistently well in domestic cricket. However, I have seen this team mostly collapsing rather than emerging under pressure," she said (4:40).
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Harmanpreet Kaur and company would have achieved the target had the other batters played like Radha Yadav and Saima Thakor and minimized the dot-ball percentage.
"If the other batters had played like Saima Thakor and Radha Yadav, reaching 260 wouldn't have been difficult. In fact, the dot balls increased from the first match to the second match. It's wrong if you are playing so many dot balls in ODIs. Even if you convert 50 percent of the dot balls, forget 260, you would reach closer to 300," Chopra observed.
Radha (48 off 64) and Saima (29 off 54) stitched together a 70-run ninth-wicket partnership. It's the highest ninth-wicket partnership for India in women's ODIs.