Women's Asia Cup: Left-arm spinner, fielding still India’s biggest concern

India in search of a suitable number three 

With Dayalan Hemalatha’s experiment at number three coming to a full stop after the Nepal game in the Asia Cup, where she struggled her way to 47 off 42 deliveries, India have a vacant spot to fill in their batting order. While Uma Chetry looked full of intent and hit a very good four down the ground in the only chance she got to bat (during the final), she is a newbie at the international circuit. India’s new number-three batter can’t go into the T20 World Cup with just one inning with the bat. 

Moreover, the Indian team management just can’t slot anybody at the batting position because India have made it a priority to have batters with hitting ability at that spot. However, Hemalatha's failure at that spot resulted in a slowdown in Indian batting during the middle overs. 

Also read: India women have a number three problem

With Yastika Bhatia injured and no further international games in sight for the team before the T20 World Cup in October, India have quite a bit to figure out regarding their number-three batter. 

Jemimah and Richa’s fiery finishing 

India’s finisher problem looks sorted after this Asia Cup campaign. 

Jemimah Rodrigues might not look like someone who hits big, but look at her performances in this Asia Cup and you’ll find that she’s exactly that. Batting at number five for India, she scored 74 runs in the 47 deliveries she faced at a strike rate of 157.4. She has not only showed that she can dance down the track against spin and hit the tweakers over the infield with ease, but she can also take down pace. 

Moreover, she cashed in on every single run opportunity. Overall, India lucked out with Jemimah working so well down the order, which extended the batting lineup and allowed Richa Ghosh to do her thing. 

And coming to Richa, she just blasted away into another gear this Asia Cup, scoring 100 runs in just 46 balls in the tournament at a strike rate of 217.4. She not only got the fastest fifty-plus score for India but the consistency and inevitability with which she cleared the boundaries proved that she is India’s best hitter of the ball. 

In fact, India should ideally look for a scenario where they must ensure that she bats 15-20 deliveries or more in an innings because the impact she provides at the end is unparalleled in Indian women’s cricket past. 

Who is India’s left-arm spinner?

Tanuja Kanwer - 0/34

Radha Yadav - 0/47

This is what India’s two left-arm spinners managed to do against a relatively weaker opposition in the only match of the Asia Cup where they were put under pressure. Left-handed batters Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama took them to the cleaners. 

While Tanuja came back decently after a bad first over, Radha crumbled under the pressure of the final and the threat from the batters in front of her. While she was good in the Bangladesh series, her bowling throughout the Asia Cup came into the picture mostly against lower-order batters.

Tanuja, with her skiddy and accurate bowling, seems like the obvious choice to be the side’s main left-arm spinner. Saika Ishaque is also in the ranks, but she has hardly played in the recent series. 

With Shreyanka Patil hopefully returning to fitness for the World Cup, India can play two off-spinners (with Deepti Sharma as well) and one left-arm spinner. Who that left-arm spinner will be is a big question that wasn’t answered in this Asia Cup campaign. 

India’s fielding crumbles again

The Indian women gave away the most runs through misfields in this Asia Cup. 

At this point, this stat won’t shock the fans who have followed this team. In fact, chances are high that they would have expressed their frustration in the choicest of words after seeing the mess created by India’s butter fingers. 

The issues got even more exacerbated under pressure in the final when Harshitha Samarawickrama was dropped by the Indian skipper herself. Fumbles, misfields, and other drops were a major reason why India slipped in the final despite playing a flawless tournament before this. 

When coach Amol Muzumdar joined the ranks, he made it a point to tell that fielding and fitness would be the two key aspects he’ll be working on in his tenure. It seems like he has a long road ahead with this team in both those aspects. 

Harmanpreet’s poor strategising and composure 

The bands, the crowd, and the Sri Lankan batters combined to create a great atmosphere in Dambulla for the home side, and they went on to win the biggest moment in their history. On the other side of the fence, the Indian skipper probably had some of her worst moments on the field in her recent memory. 

Using just five bowlers, not using Asha Sobhana’s leg spin, and other issues with field placements in the final seem a smaller problem over the fact that Harmanpreet looked cooked under pressure in Dambulla. Once Athapaththu and Samarawickrama started hitting their way to a win, the Indian skipper looked clueless on the field. 

She was all hands, changing her fields after every boundary, but she never tried to break the rhythm of the batters by bringing herself on to bowl or giving Shafali an over or two with two left-handers on the crease. 

However, the Indian skipper failed to make any such changes and Sri Lanka were allowed to carry the same momentum throughout the chase. Such meltdowns under pressure aren’t new for the Indian side, but they can’t afford to do that with the World Cup approaching fast. 

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