World Cup: Time for tactical overhaul

Express News Service

CHENNAI: One of the stand out features about this World Cup has been the number of last over finishes it has produced so far. In the 18 games, nine of them could have gone either way in the final over. To put into context, the last edition of the quadrennial event had just three. Such has been the competitiveness level in this World Cup. Until the match between India and Australia on Saturday, the former were the only team to not have featured in one.

The ODI juggernaut they are, Australia have been a part of only six last over finishes in 41 games since the 2017 World Cup, five of which they have ended up winning. The notable thing, however, is that three of the six matches have been against India in the last six months. Unlike the other two matches, the Saturday’s clash at Eden Park, despite going to the last over, might not have been as closely competed as the scorecard reflects.

Having put 277 on the board, it seemed like things were in the balance during mid-innings break. But, it all had changed the moment Alyssa Healy drilled Jhulan Goswami through covers in the very first over. If the attacking opener being in her zone wasn’t enough, India did not help themselves by having the cover wide open while trying to pitch it up and swing away. On a surface that had offered no help and a ground with short straight boundaries, India’s tactics were questionable.

While they did not give themselves the best chance by leaving their best inswing bowler out of the squad, (remember that dismissal of Healy in the T20Is a few months ago?) what was more baffling were the on-field strategies from skipper Mithali Raj.

As Australia raced to 100 for no loss, she ran out of tricks. It took a reverse sweep from Healy to get herself out. Against Meg Lanning — who would score through the cover-point region for fun even if the area is packed — India kept the off-side open and provided her with width, letting her score freely.

With Ellyse Perry, she put them in a position from where they can’t lose. It wasn’t until she entered her 90s, Mithali placed two fielders at point and was immediately rewarded with her wicket. Yastika Bhatia, who acknowledged that they could have used the tactic earlier. “We could have tried that earlier but still, she was scoring throughout the region. So even on the onset, she was getting runs, so that player  – meaning one player we had to take out and keep there, so our plan was bowling stump to stump, so we had kept the field for that, but she was finding a way to hit at point,” she said in the press-conference .

India also went with an extra batter in place of Deepti Sharma, which was understandable, but what did not sit well is the fact that they did not use the part-timer in Harmanpreet Kaur when the pacers were struggling and stuck to just five bowlers, despite the batters milking them.

In almost every match in this tournament, at one point or other, India have been outplayed tactically by their opponents. The team management will have to look at how they go about match-ups and tactics as they have to win both the remaining matches to make it to the semifinals.

Brief scores: India 277/7 in 50 ovs (Mithali 68, Yastika 59) lost to Aus 280/4 in 49.3 ovs (Lanning 97, Healy 72).

India’s semifinal pathway

With Mithali Raj & Co having lost three of five matches, a look at the possible scenarios for them to 
reach the knockouts

Win two and qualify
At the moment, India are still not dependent on other teams because if they manage to beat Bangladesh and South Africa, they are very likely to make it to top four comfortably, thanks to their better NRR.

Beat BAN & Lose to SA
Provided India beat Bangladesh and lose to South Africa, they will want Pakistan to beat at least two of West Indies, England and New Zealand. In such a scenario, it would come down to NRR, with two of the four making it to the semifinal.

If ENG & NZ share points?
If hosts New Zealand and England share a point each because of the rain on Sunday, and they both win their rest of the games, with India managing to win only of their two, they would rely on South Africa and Pakistan to beat West Indies to qualify.

Last game edge
One of the biggest advantages for India going into their clash against South Africa is that by that time, all other matches would be done. And unlike other teams, they will have their semifinals fate in their own hands on March 27 with all the relevant NRR and points information needed.