"The belief of scoring runs and chasing targets around 170-180 has been heartening to see" - Anjum Chopra on India's positives from Australia series

Anjum Chopra pointed out India Women's positives from the five-match home T20I series against Australia Women. The Women in Blue succumbed to a 1-4 defeat despite playing some good cricket throughout the series.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. lost the final game by 54 runs after failing to chase down 197 runs. Deepti Sharma put in a valiant effort, scoring a half-century, but lacked support from others. Heather Graham was the pick of the bowlers for Australia, returning with figures of 4/8 from two overs, including a hat-trick.

Speaking on her YouTube channel, Anjum reckoned that India had a couple of positives from the five outings despite suffering a humiliating series defeat. The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that the Indian batters showed that they are capable of chasing big scores, saying:

"Despite losing the series, India had a few positives in the series. After losing the first match by a close margin, they bounced back to win the next game. The belief of scoring runs and chasing targets around 170-180 has been heartening to see. The intent to fight in a contest and stay in a match has gotten better."

Anjum, who has captained India in the past, also hailed the bowlers for showing intent. She reserved special praise for Anjali Sarvani, who made her debut in the series. Anjum elaborated:

"The bowling unit has also shown confidence that they can trouble the opposition, especially after the addition of Anjali Sarvani. She is the best find from the series.

"To make a debut against Australia and perform against them will give her confidence. She was exceptional with the ball and can score runs when needed. She is also very good as a fielder in the outfield. So, she is a very nice positive."

Anjali, who bowls left-arm medium fast, picked up three wickets in five matches, with the best figures of 2/34.

"They have been very inconsistent in terms of performance" - Anjum Chopra on what went downhill for India

Anjum, who has represented India in 12 Tests, 127 ODIs, and 18 T20Is, highlighted that Harmanpreet and Co. struggled due to a lack of consistency in their performances.

.@Deepti_Sharma06 top-scored with 5⃣3⃣ off just 34 deliveries in #TeamIndia's chase but it's Australia who won the final #INDvAUS T20I.

Scorecard ▶️ bit.ly/INDVAUS-5THWT2… https://t.co/bzfLCwlpO1

With the Women's T20 World Cup lined up in the next couple of months, Anjum also mentioned that Indian players need to adapt to conditions better, saying:

"India struggled in this series due to lack of consistency. If you rate the Indian team on the basis of consistency, it has come down to 6.5-7 as compared to eight they had before. Still, they have been very inconsistent in terms of performance.

"Grace Harris talked about how they changed their batting style against Deepti Sharma. But when she started bowling straight, they shifted once again and started hitting down the ground. So that's how adaptability happens. So if Australia can adapt to conditions so quickly, we as the Indian team also need to get hold of this quickly."

India will next be seen in action when they tour South Africa for a triangular T20I series, involving the West Indies.

Also Read: "Once again India lacked partnerships" - Anjum Chopra rues poor batting after series defeat against Australia