After starting the tournament with two wins in two, hosts India suffered their first setback at the ICC Women’s World Cup on Thursday, losing a thriller against South Africa in Visakhapatnam. It means they enter the blockbuster match against Australia on Sunday, expected to be played in front of a packed ACA-VDCA stadium, under pressure to beat the reigning world champions.
But speaking ahead of the match, allrounder Sneh Rana said on Saturday that the team’s character is defined by how they can respond to such setbacks.
“That’s the beauty of the team, when things don’t go your way, it really defines everyone’s character, how they take that loss. Winning and losing are both part of the game sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But what matters most is how the team bounces back together. We regroup, we study the match, plan how to improve, take the positives, and look forward to the next game. We don’t dwell on the loss; instead, we focus on how to tackle the next challenge better,” Rana said, when asked how India plan to regroup in a short span of time.
The strike rate of India’s top-order batters have come under the scanner, and Rana said the players are aware of which areas they need to improve upon. “All the batters are working on their strengths, and everyone knows where they need to improve. Each player is taking individual training for that. If we talk about strike rate, whatever has been lacking in the past few months, everyone is aware of it and as a team, we discuss it, regroup, and work towards improving it,” the off-spinner said.
With the bat, Rana has already played three crucial hands lower down the order after India’s batting suffered collapses in all their matches so far. The 31-year-old, who has a knack of stepping up with crucial cameos, said she had been working hard on her batting coming into the tournament. “Personally, I’ve been working more on my batting. I knew which situations I was likely to get the chance to bat in, so I always prepared for that cameo. I’ve been focusing on hard-hitting for the past few months. So yes, I’d definitely say I’ve worked a lot on power hitting.”
Australia dominate the Head-to-Head in women’s ODIs against India – having won 10 out of the 13 previous meetings at the World Cup and prevailing 2-1 winners in the most recent bilateral series last month. But Rana believes the series, where two matches were closely fought, would give India the confidence heading into the clash on Sunday.
“The World Cup is a different stage, the pressure is completely different. We’ve seen Australia’s style for many years; they always play aggressively. But our plans are also clear. Whatever we’ve discussed in our meetings, we’ve made our strategies, and we hope to give a positive start tomorrow,” Rana said.
