With series on line, India need to resolve batting problems
India will be hoping to resolve their batting brittleness in their quest to win the third and final women’s ODI and seal the series against New Zealand here on Tuesday. It was clear from the first match, which the hosts won by 59 runs through a fine effort by the bowlers, that India’s batting is not in top shape, and the second One-dayer underscored that reality. India’s batting went a notch down on Friday as they were bundled out for 183 while chasing 260.
It was a tough target indeed, but not improbable in nature as India’s batters succumbed to spot-on White Ferns bowlers and to their own indiscretions. It required a record ninth-wicket stand of 70 runs between Radha Yadav and Saima Thakor to add a touch of respectability to India’s run chase. Even the overall picture is not a rosy one, as India’s batters are yet to score an individual fifty across two matches. Radha’s 48 in the second ODI is the highest individual score from India’s side during this series, and the home team will require a drastic turnaround in the final match.
For that, India’s power troika upfront — openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur — will have to fire in unison. It can have a ripple effect on a strong-on-paper middle-order consisting of Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma and Tejal Hasabnis.
Mandhana’s form continues to be a bit of concern as she looked a pale shadow of her customary gracefully dominant batter.
She is yet to reach a two-figure score against New Zealand, and a series decider could be a perfect occasion for her to rewrite the script.
On the other hand, India’s bowlers continued their good effort despite conceding 259 in the previous match.
At one stage, the visitors were 87/0 in 14 overs and 139/3 in 30 overs, but the Indian bowlers did well to rein them back and limit to a total less than 290 that at one stage looked achievable.
Left-arm spinner Radha was once again impressive with a four-wicket haul to go with the three wickets she plucked in the first game.
She will need to be at her best once more to keep the free-flowing New Zealand batters in check. New Zealand have also been bolstered by the presence of veteran pacer Lea Tahuhu who replaced injured Moly Penfold in the eleven and immediately impressed with a three-wicket haul.
LA Olympics cricket competition could be held on east coast
New Delhi: Cricket competitions of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games could take place on the east coast of the United States in order to cater to the massive audience in India and also tap into the huge domestic market of the sport in the host country, according to the host committee chair Casey Wasserman. Cricket will be making a re-entry into the Olympics roster after 128 years in the T20 format and though the venues have yet to be confirmed, it is likely the men’s and women’s competitions would take place on the east coast because of the more favourable time zone compared to the west coast for Indian viewers. New York, on the east coast, hosted several preliminary-round matches of the T20 World Cup earlier this year, which the USA co-hosted with the West Indies. The east coast is nine-and-a-half hours behind India and the country’s viewers can catch the action live, but Los Angeles is 12-and-a-half hours behind which could be detrimental from a viewership point.
