After win vs Oz, India face tricky Bangladesh test
PERTH: India’s middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy has warned her colleagues from becoming complacent after their splendid win against Australia, saying they must stay focussed ahead of their clash against Bangladesh in T20 World Cup, here on Monday.
India’s impressive bowling display lit up the tournamentopener with leg-spinner Poonam Yadav playing a key role with four wickets to halt the defending champions’ run chase. Krishnamurthy does not want to see India let emotions get the better of them, insisting the top and middle order need to survive longer.
“We can’t be complacent with the victory. We have to let go of those emotions now and focus on repeating all the good things we did,” Krishnamurthy said on the eve of the match.
India will need to improve their batting performance as they scored a below par 132 against Australia. Since the triseries preceding this World Cup, the Indian batting has been inconsistent, struggling to post big totals.
Concerns galore, largely with the brittle middle order with Krishnamurthy still to get into the groove. Indians could score only three boundaries in the last 16 overs that too from the blade of Deepti Sharma.
“We want to make sure we have enough of a score for our bowlers to defend. At the same time, we can’t be too ambitious with our strokes or risk being run short, but we need to make sure we get enough runs on board,” said the 27-year-old.
“Our bowling attack is doing really well. It’s all about giving them that extra cushion. If we had finished 15 runs shorter (vs Australia), it would’ve been a lot more difficult .”
STRONG RIVALS
It could be a tricky match for India on Monday as Bangladesh had beaten them twice in the 2018 T20 Asia Cup — in the group stage and in the final. On Monday, a furious pitch at WACA will be awaiting both the teams.
For Bangladesh, they will be aiming for an upset. Captain Salma Khatun urged her side not to dwell on India’s stunning opening victory and instead focus on getting their own performance right at the WACA.
“We are not worried about the result between India and Australia. We are just focused on our own. We have been watching the opening matches of the tournament with keen interest and we are really excited to get going in this one,” said Khatun.
“All our girls put their 100 per cent into the warm-up match against Pakistan and we hope to have a positive start at this World Cup.”
Bangladesh look fairly balanced in bowling and fielding. Of late, they have started to decipher the Indian approach towards the game pretty well. This is due to the appointment of former Indian wicketkeeper batter Anju Jain as Bangladesh coach.
Bangladesh’s highest wicket taker in fast bowling department is Jahanara Alam with ample pace and superb control. The WACA pitch historically known for good pace bowling and Jahanara Alam’s pace and swing should be an ideal fit.