Beginning a new era in 50-over cricket without peerless Mithali Raj, newly appointed skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will aim for better performances across his players’ divisions as Indian women have a winning start against host nation Sri Lanka in a series of three games, starting Friday. India will be without their two mainstays: Mithali, who retired from cricket earlier this month, and Jhulan Goswami, who has a side effect. The absence of international cricket’s most prolific duo is just one of many concerns for Captain Kaur ahead of the ODI series opener.
The Indians started the tour of the island positively by winning the T20I series 2-1 but their performance was far from perfect and while the format will change, the regulars would love to put on a dominant show against the low-ranking (ninth) Sri Lanka.
“It’s also a new journey for me,” Kaur, who was given the captaincy of ODI after Mithali retired, said at the pre-match press conference.
“My main drive is to improve our fitness and fielding. These are the two areas where I personally want the team to do well,” she added.
The batters struggled on the slow lane in Dambulla, unable to break the 140 run in all three T20Is and players like Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma were hoping for a better and consistent show in the 50-over format.
The last time India played a 50 over match was during the World Cup in March, when it failed to qualify for the semi-finals. The Indian batting unit then failed to fire as a group and would like to correct its weaknesses.
Kaur himself has had good contact. After finishing as the top go-getter for her side in the T20 series, it will be good for India if the skipper can continue her top form alongside all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar.
Young wicket-keeper Richa Gosh, who starred in the series against New Zealand earlier this year, will be looking for a good show, even though the team management used Yastika Bhatia as a stop-gap keeper in one of the T20I games.
With the seasoned Jhulan not by his side, the young and relatively inexperienced fast bowling squad consisting of Vastrakar, Simran Bahadur, Meghna Singh and Renuka Singh will be tested by the Lankan batting lineup headlined by Chamari Athapaththu.
The spinners were mostly on target, but struggled in the third game. Poonam Yadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad will have their task in the longer format. Kaur and Harleen Doel, with her broken leg, could use a few helpful overs too.
The tourists will also have to work on their fielding. They have been sloppy in the T20 series, missing a slew of runouts and dropping catches too.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be keen to maintain winning momentum after taking a conciliatory victory in the final T20I.
The hosts acted as a cohesive unit with all divisions firing. But the batter must lift their game.
On the bowling front, spin duo Inoka Ranaweera and Oshadi Ranasinghe were the standout players, doing most of the heavy lifting.
Sri Lanka lost the ODI series against Pakistan earlier this month and hopes to avoid a second consecutive series loss in the format.
promoted
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Meghana, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Harleen Deol.
Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Vishmi Gunaratne, Ama Kanchana, Hansima Karunaratne, Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hasini Perera, Udeshika Prabodhani, Oshadi Ranasingehepharani, Malecina Sewwandi.
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