India rolled into the Women’s T20 World Cup after a difficult set of results but captain Harmanpreet Kaur says that could be a blessing in disguise for her players.
Prior to the tournament, India had suffered several frustrating losses against more dominant teams – South Africa and England. The losses had raised alarm bells in terms of the team’s form, with Harmanpreet believing that there was a need to grow instead of getting into panic mode.
The Indian captain expressed by saying that losses exposes faults which wins often gloss over. This somewhat challenging phase has helped the team understand what they need to improve on, she emphasized. In team meetings and training sessions, the players have identified those shortcomings and are seeking ways to overcome them before their tournament begins.
Harmanpreet said the squad has spent a lot of time digesting performances and brainstorming solutions as they try to draw from those experiences ahead of the conditions of World Cup cricket intensifying. The captain is convinced learning from those encounters – versus quality opposition – will help them make better choices and play with higher consistency on the biggest stage.
India did manage to find some reasons for optimism in their preparations, despite the disappointing results. One of the really positive signs was provided by Richa Ghosh, as the wicketkeeper-batter played an explosive innings in India’s last warm-up match.
Richa blasted 68 runs off just 36 balls, a display of the aggressive and finishing prowess that makes her one of India’s most exciting young talents. Her innings was a timely reminder of the batting firepower that had been missing, and helped alleviate concerns about how they would get up to speed in vital parts of an innings.
Both captain and coaching set up lauded the performance as big positive ahead of the tournament. Richa has started to find some real form at the right time, and India are confident that they have one of their match-winners in good form.
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], Oct 7: When the World Cup kicks-off this week, India will be trying to transform recent lessons into results. The road to the tournament has been tough but Harmanpreet and her side are hoping that the hurdles they faced in preparation will only make them better when it comes, to crunch time.
Read More: https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/harmanpreet-kaur-372317
