It wasn't touted to be the match of the year, let alone month, week or even day. Yet, that's exactly what it turned into as an unfancied Indian Women's side caused a stir in the Women's T20 World Cup teapot by beating hosts and four-time title winners, Australia, by 17 runs on the opening day of the World Cup. While the contest was closely fought through most parts, impeccable planning and diligent execution from the India Women played a role in the win. Here's dissecting how they bridled the Aussies.
Using the powerplay and masking their weakness
The tri-series had given India an idea on how to push the Aussies into a corner. In the lone match where they beat the Aussie women's side, Shafali Verma started off with a blast and made a 28-ball 49. Mandhana followed suit with a 48-ball 55. The duo made 70 runs in six overs to set the stage for a brilliant run-chase. Here again, the duo adopted a similar approach of going on the offensive early. Shafali's free stroke play had the Aussies on the back-foot early on. The idea was to keep going for their shots to maximise the powerplay to hide their fallacies in the middle-order. Given a decent base, the middle-order can navigate through the middle overs without trying to up the ante much.
Aim at a par score
Even if India did get off to a great start courtesy some extraordinary ball-striking from Shafali, the wickets of the openers in successive overs pushed India back. To further their downfall, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was out to a horrendous shot to leave India reeling. Given the onus to put on a 150-plus score, India may not have coped much criticism had they carried on with their merry ways. Instead, the 150 plan was chucked altogether and the team focused on a smaller target, with Jemimah Rodriques and Deepti Sharma building a patient stand of 53 in nearly 10 overs. It seemed like India were going nowhere with their innings but the plan was to get to a par score and leave the rest to the bowling attack.
Contain with spin in the powerplay
Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney have been terrorising sides with their own attacking style early in an innings. Since 2018, the duo are the third fastest opening pair in Women's T20Is, scoring at a frenetic pace of 8.27. They have also stitched together eight half-century stands in this time frame. Scoring consistently and quickly is the hallmark of a great opening pair in T20s and Healy and Mooney represent the ideal pair in the women's game. Containing them was a huge task for India, particularly with a low total on board. Rather than trying to play to the pitch, India stuck to their strengths and opened with spin from either end. Deepti continued her spell through powerplay overs while Shikha Pandey took over from the other end. Only 33 runs came from the first powerplay as India strangled the Aussie openers, a task seemingly impossible for a lot of other teams. The wicket of Mooney was a bonus, but there was still more work to be done.
The Poonam - Taniya partnership
Breaking Australia's resolve and long middle-order needed a magical streak and Poonam Yadav produced just that. Her injury in the tri-series proved to be a blessing in disguise as the Aussie batters seemed unsure about how to handle her wrong 'uns. India had worked out that Poonam would be their surprise weapon before the game, evident from the fact that they held her back until the 10th over of the innings, soon after Meg Lanning's dismissal. In the first 9 overs, Australia had made just 58 runs, a result of India strangling them early on without trying too much for wickets.
When Poonam entered the attack, Australia had no option but to try and take her on. The required run-rate had closed in on seven and the presence of Healy - who boasts of a T20I strike rate of 170-plus in 2019 - gave them the confidence to take Poonam on. This plan was shattered in her first over as Healy looked to take her on again shortly after clubbing a six. Rachael Haynes was done in by a brilliant googly as Taniya Bhatia, prepared for such an occurrence, pulled off a brilliant stumping. To the unmatchable Ellyse Perry, Poonam had the wrong 'un up her sleeve again and cleaned her up. With Jess Jonassen's wicket, Australia were derailed completely as Bhatia, as much as Poonam, was involved in the demise of the hosts.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / PETER PARKS
