IND-W vs AUS-W: "Could Have Done The Trick" - Amol Muzumdar Admits India's Fielding Was 'Below Par'

India Women head coach Amol Muzumdar acknowledged that their subpar fielding performance was a significant factor in their defeat against Australia. Amol Muzumdar expressed that an improved fielding effort could have altered the outcome of the match.

India lost the second ODI against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai by three runs, resulting in a 0-2 series deficit with one match remaining. The Australian team set a challenging total of 258/8. In response, the home team fell short during the run chase.

Our Fielding Was Below Par Today – Amol Muzumdar

Amol Muzumdar said that the team is a work in progress and highlighted the need for focused attention on fielding and fitness in the post-series period to enhance their overall game.

“We’re in the process of building it up. There’s no doubt that our fielding was below par today. We dropped about six catches. It always happens in a game. Even they dropped a few. But having said that, we still are a work in progress. If we get time post this series, I’m sure we’ll try to spend a lot of time on fielding and fitness,” Muzumdar was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

India dropped seven catches in the second ODI. Phoebe Litchfield, benefiting from two lifelines, scored 63 runs. Ellyse Perry registered a fifty after she was dropped by Sneh Rana. Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Deepti Sharma dropped catches in the game.

The Indian team was in a winning position at 224/5 after 45 overs. However, the hosts lost wickets at regular intervals and could only manage to score 255 for the loss of eight wickets. Deepti Sharma remained unbeaten on 24 off 36 balls, including one boundary.

Cannot Name Anyone For The Defeat – Amol Muzumdar

Amol Muzumdar refrained from singling out any individual for the defeat, emphasizing that a slight improvement in fielding and death overs could have made a difference in the outcome.

“At the end of the day we can all sit and say ‘oh, we missed out by three runs’ but there were about 600 balls bowled in that. So we can always go back and talk about it in hindsight. Yes, we fell short by three runs, but I cannot name anyone for the defeat. It’s just a collective effort. Probably just one more shot or one more stop in the field could have done the trick,” Muzumdar added.

India struggled in the death overs, with Pooja Vastrakar conceding 18 runs in the final over of Australia’s innings. Deepti Sharma, who took 5/38, couldn’t replicate the success with the bat. Deepti failed to accelerate in the final overs, impacting her team’s winning chances.

The third and final ODI match between India and Australia is set to be held at the same venue on Tuesday, January 2. Following the ODI series, the Indian women’s cricket team will host a three-match T20I series from January 5 to 9 in Navi Mumbai.

Also read: Deepti Sharma Is Ben Stokes Of The Team – India Women’s Team Head Coach Amol Muzumdar