The team’s bowling coach is not present, but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur expressed satisfaction with the way the bowlers are assuming leadership and managing the issue. Due to Ramesh Powar’s transfer to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and the appointment of Hrishikesh Kanitkar as the team’s batting coach two months before the T20 World Cup in South Africa, India does not currently have a full-time bowling coach. For a squad hoping to win their first world championship at the T20 World Cup the following year, the position is challenging. India is still perfecting their bowling attack with less than two months until they play Pakistan in the opening game. That is, without a bowling coach.
Meghna Singh frequently doesn’t make the starting XI because India is reluctant to employ a seam-heavy attack in white-ball cricket. Jhulan Goswami used to direct the attack in ODIs alongside Renuka and Pooja Vastrakar. Renuka and Vastrakar frequently made up the two-seamer attack in T20s. Vastrakar was a crucial component of India’s plans for seam bowling, but her injury has left India short of supplies. Harmanpreet has had to rely on spin more often than she would have wanted as a result. On these pitches, you need a medium pacer, and bowling back-to-back spells of spin bowling makes it easier for the opposition’s batters to relax which has been the pattern.
Pooja is undoubtedly missed because she has expertise in bowling in death overs. That’s where better injury management comes into play and India is also missing Shikha Pandey who could have spearheaded the attack and added more depth. India is still in a good position with Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, and Renuka Singh Thakur effectively carrying the bowling attack.
All in all, India would be looking to win the 4th T20I and level the series 2-2 and to keep the series alive perhaps this is the only way to go. It will also be a fitting tribute to the fans who have been vehemently thronging the stadiums supporting the Women in Blue. Team India would be hoping to turn things around in the remaining two matches and working on a few more areas would certainly enable India to end up on the winning side.
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.