5 things to look out for in India's match against Sri Lanka at Women's T20 World Cup

The India women’s cricket team finds itself in a must-win territory once again at the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. After going down to New Zealand by 58 runs in their Group A opener, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side fought back with a six-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan. They face Sri Lanka on Wednesday in their third match, aiming to qualify for the semi-finals.

On paper, India might be the stronger side, but Women in Blue must have learnt after their defeat against New Zealand that there’s no room for complacency.

Sri Lanka had also beaten India in the Asia Cup 2024 final.

Ahead of the all-important clash, there are a few areas where India will need to improve, with so much at stake for both teams.

Let’s look at five of those aspects:

India’s Net Run Rate (NRR) battle

Team India’s battle is not just against teams in their group. India also have their task cut out in terms of Net Run Rate. In a tournament like the T20 World Cup, and especially in the group stage, there’s hardly any margin for error.

India’s loss to New Zealand plummeted the Women in Blue’s Net Run Rate (NRR) to as low as -2.900. Their win over Pakistan did not help much with the NRR rising only to -1.217, which places them in fourth position behind Pakistan (+0.555).

However, second-placed New Zealand’s NRR (-0.050) took a hit following their 60-run loss to Australia on Tuesday, and a big win for India against Sri Lanka is an opportunity for India to gain in this aspect.

However, there’s bad news for India as well. They play an in-form and table topper Australia in their final group match, which could very well be a virtual quarter-final for India given that they beat Sri Lanka. Beating Australia on any day has proved difficult, and while New Zealand, who were all out for 88 on Tuesday, were the latest victims, India would hope not to go the same route against the mighty Aussies.

India seek batting improvement

Part of the reason for India’s shaky start has been the team’s batting. The much-famed opening duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma have failed to live up to expectations. Such has been India’s run-scoring pattern that once these two openers are dismissed, the rest of the batting lineup just disintegrates like a pack of cards.

The slow, unpredictable nature of the pitch in Dubai has not helped either with assistance for the spinners.

Against Pakistan, spinners Deepti Sharma (1/24), Shreyanka Patil (2/12) and Asha Sobhana (1/24) were impressive but there was a surprise package in pacer Arundhati Reddy (3/19), who ran through the Pakistan middle-order.

Read | Is India’s scoring rate an issue?

Pakistan too had potent spinners in their lineup but the small target went against them as India were home with a little more than an over to spare.

However, India cannot afford slow batting anymore. To have had a positive NRR, they should have chased down the total of 106 against Pakistan much faster than the 18.5 overs they took.

Boundaries have been hard to come by, even for someone like Jemimah Rodrigues, who failed to find a single boundary in her 28-ball 23.

In such a scenario, India should at least look to rotate strikes more frequently to negate the slow pitches and ease the pressure on batters. On tricky surfaces, it’s always important to settle down before going for the big shots.

India’s fielding woes

Batting is not just the only cause of concern for India. Fielding woes have been a recurring problem. India were the victim of costly misfielding during the Asia Cup this year, and the T20 World Cup has been no different.

India’s fielders failed to make use of the best opportunities in the first match against New Zealand, most notably a dropped catch from Richa Ghosh that would have dismissed Suzie Bates.

While Ghosh made up for her mistake from the first match with a stunning catch against Pakistan, Asha Sobhana was at the receiving end of things against the Women in Green, putting down two easy chances, both of Arundhati Reddy’s bowling.

The Lankan batters may not be in their best form at the moment, fielding is a department that India cannot take for granted.

Harmanpreet Kaur is fit, but where will she bat?

The Women in Blue had suffered a scare during the Pakistan match when skipper Harmanpreet Kaur suffered a neck injury. There were doubts about her participation in the match against Sri Lanka, but vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has confirmed that Harmanpreet is ready to face the Lankans.

“She (Harman) is doing fine, and she will be ready for tomorrow’s game,” Mandhana said ahead of the Sri Lanka match.

But the question remains as to where Harmanpreet will bat against Sri Lanka. She batted at No 3 against New Zealand, scoring 15, whereas she came two down to bat against Pakistan. Jemimah Rodrigues batted at No 3 against Pakistan, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if she does the same against Sri Lanka. After all, Jemimah is someone who can adapt to various match situations and also does not take any undue risks.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s strike rate while batting at No 3 is 99.36, which is another sign why India should go with Rodrigues at No 3. India need someone who can carry on the batting with a balance of attack and defence, and due to Jemimah’s versatility, the 24-year-old might just be the answer for India’s No 3 conundrum.

Pooja Vastrakar remains doubtful

Pooja Vastrakar remains doubtful to take on Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Vastrakar, who had produced a fine display of 3/20 against West Indies in the warm-up match, missed the Pakistan match with an injury, and that could mean another match for Sajeevan Sajana, the all-rounder from Kerala.

It has, however, been fellow pacer Renuka Singh who has been hogging the limelight in Pooja’s absence, with figures of 2/27 and 1/23, and Arundhati Reddy has been supporting Renuka well.

With spinners having a significant say at the T20 World Cup, India may not have to hit the panic button as far as their pacers are concerned, but the absence of an experienced seamer in Pooja Vastrakar could be concerning for India. Renuka and Arundhati will thus be up for another difficult yet challenging day on the field against Sri Lanka.