Former Indian player Gautam Gambhir said that the Mithali Raj-led Indian team’s batting order was tested against Pakistan in their first match of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022.
India defeated Pakistan by 107 runs at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday. India were dented with an early blow as Shafali Verma was clean bowled by Pakistan skipper Diana Baig in the third over for a duck. But Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma stitched 92 runs for the third wicket to set the tone for India in the innings.
However, both the batters fell in quick succession and senior players Mithali and Harmanpreet Kaur also didn’t stay at the crease for a longer period. India were reduced to 114/6 after Mithali’s dismissal at the start of the 34th over.
India’s lower-order batters Sneh Rana (53) and Pooja Vastrakar (67) joined forces to reinstate the innings and put 122 runs for the seventh wicket. Both the players were very calculative and kept rotating strikes and banked on the loose balls to find boundaries.
India played the sort of match they were expecting: Gautam Gambhir
India bowled out Pakistan for 137 as Rajeshwari Gayakwad claimed four scalps with senior pacer Jhulan Goswami and Rana chipped in with two wickets each. Gambhir said that the Indian team was tested against Pakistan in their opening match of the World Cup.
“The most important thing was that India played the sort of match they were expecting. India had lost six wickets at a score of 114 at one stage and then the sort of comeback they made, scored 244 runs and defeated Pakistan by such a huge margin.
“You want to play such a match at the start where your entire batting order is tested, your capability is tested, and you are also tested in the bowling department because it was not a huge total,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.Â
It was a complete match from India’s viewpoint: Gautam Gambhir
Gambhir also said that the Indian team are heavily dependent on senior players like Mandhana and Harmanpreet to score runs and appreciated Rana and Vastrakar for chipping in with their important contributions to the game.
“If it had been a one-sided match where your top order scored 250-275 runs, where your lower-middle order would not have got an opportunity, it would not have been a complete match. I believe India will keep getting better from here,” he said.Â
“It was a complete match from India’s viewpoint. You have expectations from Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj or Harmanpreet. But such players who would not get such opportunities often, the sort of partnership they had and the pace at which they scored, I believe the entire batting lineup will get a lot of confidence from this,” he added.Â
India women’s team will face host New Zealand in the next match on March 10 at the Seddon Park in Hamilton.
