Except for the only shock moment that Harmanpreet Kaur’s India endured against Bangladesh, that stunned the famous sub-continental side for a 7-wicket loss, the performance of the side has been pretty much spot on. They’ve once again kept up the winning momentum and immediately after their loss to a Rumana Ahmed powered win, returned back to the winning ways in their very next game.
After India defeated Pakistan for a comfortable win, bouncing back positively after their previous games’ jolt, it’s been clear once again that Harmanpreet Kaur’s team is the unit to beat. And that is no surprise to be fair given in the previous editions of the Asia Cup too, India have been a head and shoulders above the rest.
So, that leads to an important question concerning the winning form of a side that’s nearly massacred the likes of Malaysia, Thailand, and Pakistan. What makes India such a dangerous side in this cricketing tournament?
For starters, the form of the spinners has been completely outstanding. In the likes of Anuja Patil, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav and, Deepti Sharma- India have not one but a quartet of outstanding spin talent. In the recent outing against Pakistan, where the Sana Mir-led side were literally thrashed, Pakistan managing only 72 off 20 overs, India’s Ekta Bisht clinched her 50th wicket. In addition, to Poonam Yadav, continuing her good form, adding one to her tally of 5 wickets, the likes of Anuja Patil and Deepti Sharma stepped up, clinching a wicket apiece.
Secondly, the mere presence of old-hands like Jhulan Goswami who didn’t play in the Asia Cup 2018’s initial games, has lifted the Harmanpreet Kaur T20 unit. In a contest that is easily swinging to the way of the spinners, having an experienced player around in the contest lifts the tempo of the side a fair bit. So far, from 3 games, even as Jhulan Goswami has picked up just a single wicket, she’s been bowling at a good length and been enjoying some nice, economical spells. What this effectively does is that it dries up the runs from an end so when the batswomen wish to release the pressure to engage in a bit of scoring, they often end up falling to the spinners. Similarly, Shikha Pandey- a humble servant of Indian cricket has been bowling consistently and trying successfully to curtail a free flow of runs. So far, even as Pandey has taken only 1 wicket, importantly coming against the game of Pakistan, she has been hard to score off.
All that said, India’s most famous batting trio, arguably among the best in the modern game- Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur- have been in fine nick. While a few hours earlier, Raj, among the most respected names in the sport picked up a special- going past 2000 T20 runs, she’s been consistently knocking the ball around for useful runs. Lending India an important opening salvo, Mithali struck a crucial 97 not out against Malaysia as India mauled a weaker opponent. At the same time, Mandhana’s useful, sparky 30s and 35s have been faring her side well. In seeing India home against Pakistan, she stitched a useful 65-run stand along with T20 captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, easily the player from India with the bat.
in case you were wondering just how well has Harmanpreet been faring then here are her scores in Asia Cup, that have added an undiminishable spark to the Indian batting lineup:
34 not out vs Pakistan, 24 vs Sri Lanka, 42 vs Bangladesh, 27 not out vs Thailand and, 32 not out vs Malaysia. You instantly know that the batting looks strong and sound when among the finest strikers of the cricket ball enjoys consistent scores, including 2 unbeaten knocks.
For any side, regardless of a leading cricketing power or a rising force, things automatically seem on a great mode and safer than on most other occasions when the captain is in fine form. The same can be said for Harmanpreet Kaur’s batting form at the moment. But that said, there is still another game to go. There is still the keenly-anticipated final of the 2018 Asia Cup that’s yet to happen. For a template that so favours the changing vagaries of the game- Harmanpreet Kaur and her India would be mindful that things may change quickly and would, therefore, feel safe in continuing their current shiny form.