Only thrice in India’s last 46 T20I matches has Mithali Raj not opened the innings. The latest instance was in India’s World Cup opener against New Zealand, where 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Tanya Bhatt strode into the middle with Mithali’s trusted partner Smriti Mandhana. The experiment, though, lasted just a match, as the highly-successful Mithali-Smriti firm was reinstated in the high-pressure fixture against Pakistan.
Only thrice in India’s last 46 T20I matches has Mithali Raj not opened the innings. The latest instance was in India’s World Cup opener against New Zealand, where 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Tanya Bhatt strode into the middle with Mithali’s trusted partner Smriti Mandhana. The experiment, though, lasted just a match, as the highly-successful Mithali-Smriti firm was reinstated in the high-pressure fixture against Pakistan.
Back in her familiar role, Mithali underpinned her prowess with a calm knock, though chasing a modest target, but as importantly wheeled away 73 runs with Mandhana, demonstrating that they could be a formidable batting pair in the tournament. While Mithali has always preferred to open the innings, the management decided to beef up the middle-order by pushing her down. “It’s just that maybe because it was a big team we were playing the first game, and we wanted somebody in the middle order, so experience does play a role when you want to push yourself down in the middle order,” she said.
The middle-order concern, though, was allayed by Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues in the New Zealand match, and it was the opportune time for Mithali, India’s highest run-getter across formats, to return to the top. The management also weighed in Pakistan’s spin-heavy attack and Mithali is considered one of the finest players of spin. “They felt that because there are spinners in the Pakistan side, and it would be wise to open, so I opened,”she said.
She was typically composed, running the singles and twos hard, finding the occasional boundary and keeping the required run-rate under check. The maturity she exuded was a lesson for some of her younger teammates.
The key to her efficient run-making, she says, is an uncluttered mind. “I think as an opener, I don’t think too much about how to go about it, but as a batter, you would want to focus on the ball and play with instinct. Batting is all about instincts. You don’t plan and go there because obviously, the opponents have a different plan, and if you only want to stick to your plan, there is obviously a downfall. So as a batter, I focus on watching the ball and playing instinctively whether it is an aggressive shot or walking out for a single,” she says.
Despite laying the foundation of a seven-wicket victory with a breezy 56 off 47 deliveries, she was unhappy that she couldn’t finish the match off, more so as T20 cricket is prone to quick turnarounds. “I wanted to see my team through, but then tried to play a big shot and got out,” she rues. But then it was the very same instinct she trusts that undid her.
India still needed 11 runs when she departed. But Veda Krishmurthy and Harmanpreet ensured that India wouldn’t falter. She’s contend with the way the new generation of Indian players is shouldering more responsibilities, but that also prompts the retirement question.
A realistic Mithali feels this could be her last T20 World Cup. “When you think that the team has gone through a lot of transition, and there are a lot of youngsters in the side, so at some point I’m thinking about more than myself, that whether I would be able to give the best or not. There are times when I think about the team, whether it is the right time to move forward, and I believe that now the team is settling, so it could probably be the last World Cup for me, the WT20 format.”
Hence, she will be all the more pumped up to add a silverware to her glittering career. And given the way she batted against Pakistan, it would be difficult to knock her off the opening slot.
Pakistan penalised
Pakistan’s batters Nida Dar and Bismah Maroof, who both hit half-centuries, were warned by the umpires after the 13th over for running on the danger area. In the 18th over, they were penalised for the first time, before being slapped with another five-run penalty on the last ball of the innings. That meant that though Pakistan posted 133/7, India needed only 124 to win, as they started with 10/0 before the first ball was bowled.
Pakistan, though, had themselves to blame. “I had a chat with the umpires and they told me that they warned the player thrice, and after warning three times, they gave the penalty,” said Javeria Khan, the Pakistan captain.
“It’s unprofessionalism on our part that after being warned, we were still on the danger area. This is an area we should look at, because it has not happened the first time, it’s [happened] in the past in the Sri Lanka series as well. We should seriously look into this because these are the things that cost you the game,” she said.
Later, Ireland were also penalised (five runs) in their nine-wicket defeat to Australia.
Brief Scores: Ireland 93 for 6 (Garth 24, Perry 2-12) lost to Australia 94 for 1 (Healy 56*) by by nine wickets.
Back in her familiar role, Mithali underpinned her prowess with a calm knock, though chasing a modest target, but as importantly wheeled away 73 runs with Mandhana, demonstrating that they could be a formidable batting pair in the tournament. While Mithali has always preferred to open the innings, the management decided to beef up the middle-order by pushing her down. “It’s just that maybe because it was a big team we were playing the first game, and we wanted somebody in the middle order, so experience does play a role when you want to push yourself down in the middle order,” she said.
The middle-order concern, though, was allayed by Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues in the New Zealand match, and it was the opportune time for Mithali, India’s highest run-getter across formats, to return to the top. The management also weighed in Pakistan’s spin-heavy attack and Mithali is considered one of the finest players of spin. “They felt that because there are spinners in the Pakistan side, and it would be wise to open, so I opened,”she said.
She was typically composed, running the singles and twos hard, finding the occasional boundary and keeping the required run-rate under check. The maturity she exuded was a lesson for some of her younger teammates.
The key to her efficient run-making, she says, is an uncluttered mind. “I think as an opener, I don’t think too much about how to go about it, but as a batter, you would want to focus on the ball and play with instinct. Batting is all about instincts. You don’t plan and go there because obviously, the opponents have a different plan, and if you only want to stick to your plan, there is obviously a downfall. So as a batter, I focus on watching the ball and playing instinctively whether it is an aggressive shot or walking out for a single,” she says.
Despite laying the foundation of a seven-wicket victory with a breezy 56 off 47 deliveries, she was unhappy that she couldn’t finish the match off, more so as T20 cricket is prone to quick turnarounds. “I wanted to see my team through, but then tried to play a big shot and got out,” she rues. But then it was the very same instinct she trusts that undid her.
India still needed 11 runs when she departed. But Veda Krishmurthy and Harmanpreet ensured that India wouldn’t falter. She’s contend with the way the new generation of Indian players is shouldering more responsibilities, but that also prompts the retirement question.
A realistic Mithali feels this could be her last T20 World Cup. “When you think that the team has gone through a lot of transition, and there are a lot of youngsters in the side, so at some point I’m thinking about more than myself, that whether I would be able to give the best or not. There are times when I think about the team, whether it is the right time to move forward, and I believe that now the team is settling, so it could probably be the last World Cup for me, the WT20 format.”
Hence, she will be all the more pumped up to add a silverware to her glittering career. And given the way she batted against Pakistan, it would be difficult to knock her off the opening slot.
Pakistan penalised
Pakistan’s batters Nida Dar and Bismah Maroof, who both hit half-centuries, were warned by the umpires after the 13th over for running on the danger area. In the 18th over, they were penalised for the first time, before being slapped with another five-run penalty on the last ball of the innings. That meant that though Pakistan posted 133/7, India needed only 124 to win, as they started with 10/0 before the first ball was bowled.
Pakistan, though, had themselves to blame. “I had a chat with the umpires and they told me that they warned the player thrice, and after warning three times, they gave the penalty,” said Javeria Khan, the Pakistan captain.
“It’s unprofessionalism on our part that after being warned, we were still on the danger area. This is an area we should look at, because it has not happened the first time, it’s [happened] in the past in the Sri Lanka series as well. We should seriously look into this because these are the things that cost you the game,” she said.
Later, Ireland were also penalised (five runs) in their nine-wicket defeat to Australia.
Brief Scores: Ireland 93 for 6 (Garth 24, Perry 2-12) lost to Australia 94 for 1 (Healy 56*) by by nine wickets.