After clinching their first-ever women’s T20I series win in England with a victory in Manchester, Team India now has the opportunity to wrap up the series with a 4-1 scoreline as they head into the fifth and final match at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Throughout the four matches in the ongoing series against England, India has shown a marked improvement in on-field confidence. Once criticised for subpar fielding and limited athleticism, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side now seems to have turned a corner.
After the historic win in the fourth match, spinner Radha Yadav also spoke about improved ground fielding. “We spoke in the last meeting that we have to cut down the twos, and we actually did that today, and we were really pumped up to do that. Only the fielding part, I thought, changed the momentum,” the Player of the Match said.
Speaking about India’s near-flawless fielding performances, fielding coach Munish Bali credited the focused two-week training camps at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, held before the team departed for England. The improvements were also evident during their ODI tri-series victory in Sri Lanka.
He said, “All these girls, they wanted to become a good fielding side, and we want to be one, as there is an attitude to be that. So, they always wanted to do well, and the commitment they showed was not just in the match but also during our practice sessions; they have also shown the same intensity on the ground. I am very happy, but still, we have to go a long way.”
Talking about the specific drills at the camp at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Bali said, “We had a camp in COE. In that, we did some specific work on high catching and ground fielding and worked a lot on fitness so that our athleticism is good. We did specific high catching drills, direct hit drills, ground fielding work, and how to cut the angles. We are still working on that only to get better.”
When asked about the work done to cut down fielding angles, Bali elaborated on what the term actually means. He said, “So, cutting the angles is basically you have to approach towards the ball. You have to take a shorter route to stay towards the ball, whether you are standing at the boundary line or the inner circle.”
He said they conducted numerous drills focused on reaching the ball quickly, explaining that this required the players to be good athletes. To support that, they worked closely with a fitness trainer, an approach that he believes has been paying off.
On talking about wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, the coach said, “Richa has a very great work ethic. Even in the camps, she was working so hard on her keeping. Basically, she is working on her stance and hand-eye coordination. So, she is working very hard, and by doing it regularly, she is getting better.”
Bali also praised young left-arm spinner N. Shree Charani for significantly improving her fielding since joining the national team. He said, “Well, everyone else is good. But I am very happy with Shree Charani. The way she is coming up as a youngster, she takes extra catches and is doing very well. She took a brilliant catch in the second T20I and even effected a run-out. She is moving well, and so I am very happy with her.”
On being asked about the spin-dominant bowling lineup, the fielding coach said, “If you see, our spinners have been our strength from the start, and then we backed them here. We know we have experienced spinners like Sneh Rana and Deepti, and then Radha is there. So, we followed our best strengths.”
Munish Bali, India’s fielding coach, explained that the team adopted a six-bowler strategy because they have all-rounders who can contribute valuable runs with the bat.
He further added, “Look, all our bowlers can bat also. So, that’s why we have adopted that six-bowler strategy. It is helping us in a great way. Every time, if someone does not have a good day, or if a bowler misses out on your six bowling options, especially when you have all-rounders like Amanjot, Sneh Rana, Radha, and Deepti, then that’s the reason why we have gone with more spinners and six bowlers.”
The goal of transforming India into a strong fielding side has begun to materialise in England, a vision shared by Bali and head coach Amol Muzumdar, with captain Harmanpreet also frequently emphasising it in earlier press conferences.
“Back when I had joined the team, we had decided on one thing: wanting to become a good fielding side. We all needed to contribute towards that and work together. Every player, senior or junior, responded to that. It was a shared dream that came from the players as well,” mentioned the fielding coach.
He further added, “They wanted to do well and feel like Australia and England. We knew that we were doing the work in the background, so sooner or later, the results would come. When you’re fielding for 120 balls in a T20I match, it isn’t possible to get 120 out of 120 right. There may be errors, but they make sure to work on that.”
India will go against England on July 12, 2025, at Birmingham for the final T20 International match.
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