India look to consolidate lead against Lanka in 2nd WT20I

Visakhapatnam: The Indian women’s cricket team will look to raise its fielding standards by a few notches and build on a comprehensive opening win when it squares off against Sri Lanka in the second WT20I here on Tuesday.

Playing its first international game after a historic World Cup triumph last month, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side didn’t need to break much sweat in the batting and bowling departments during an eight-wicket win over the island nation. However, the team’s fielding, especially catching, left a lot to be desired despite the bowlers managing to restrict the Lankans to a paltry 121 for 6.

“We are working on our fielding. Don’t know why we keep dropping catches. It is wet out here, but it is not an excuse. That is something we really need to think about. in the next match, we will come about with better approach,” skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had said after the match.

The Indian team had a well-deserved six-week break following the World Cup high. The players converged for a week-long camp at the Centre Of Excellence in Bengaluru after that. Some rustiness in fielding was pretty much expected and the seasoned skipper feels that the team would be getting into the groove very soon.

“We are playing after a month. We don’t want to unnecessarily challenge ourselves. We just want to do well for the team. “We just wanted to bowl first and see how it goes. We wanted to show the better approach,” Harmanpreet had said.

On paper, India are overwhelming favourites against Chamari Athapaththu-led Sri Lanka. Jemimah Rodrigues, in the form of her life, resumed her post-World Cup run seamlessly, showing great rhythm and punishing left-arm wrist spinner Shashini Gimhani, who struggled with her length and was taken for several boundaries.

A major positive for India was 20-year-old left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma. Despite going wicketless, she conceded just 16 runs without allowing a boundary, showcasing control and maturity.

The series is also crucial for Shafali Verma as she seeks consistency in her preferred format. While Sri Lanka’s weak showing didn’t test India much, batters like Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma will hope for tougher challenges ahead of a demanding Australia tour after the WPL.