Needed to build partnerships with Harmanpreet Kaur, said the bowler
Although India had lost the second game of the three-match T20I series to West Indies, they did well to restrict the visitors to 137 after electing to field.
Learning from the first match, the hosts made a few changes in their strategy as they looked to keep the hard-hitting West Indies batters in check. Shikha Pandey, who claimed two wickets later in the innings did not open the bowling as she usually does with Jhulan Goswami but came in fourth change while off-spinner Anuja Patil opened the bowling. While the bowling and fielding departments did well for India, the batting collapse cost India the match.
Discussing the bowling plan and her role, Pandey said, “In the last game, I had given away a few runs in the beginning. After that we assessed that they like the ball coming on to the bat. That was one of the reasons why we thought of opening with a spinner along with Jhulu di (Jhulan Goswami). I was told that I will bowl in between (bowled the sixth, 12, 14th and 18th overs).
Explaining the rationale behind bowling first, Pandey said, “I think we are a very good chasing side. It started with the series in Australia that we played earlier in the year. We thought the wicket would ease up in the second innings and that was also one of the reasons why we elected to field first.
“We were thinking of restricting them to 130 (odd runs). As the game progressed, the wicket got slower. This is a fresh wicket that we played on today but, no excuses. I still thought was 138 was a chaseable target. One of us had to give a good stand to Harman.”
However, the batters perished going for their shots and the line-up collapsed for 106 runs. While talking about the forgettable batting display she said, “We were going for our shots, and probably wrong shot selection (was the reason for the fall of wickets). I was not happy with the way I got out. Probably if I were to hit it pretty hard I would have cleared the fence, I just wanted to take single and get the runs going. Harry (Harmanpreet) was middling the ball really well, so I was promoted up the order to go and give her support. I was sent to get the singles and doubles going. She was well settled, so the boundaries were coming.”
While lower-order hadn’t come into the play in the one-day games, they would be required to contribute with the bat as well in the shortest format of the game. Asked if the bowlers needed to work on their batting, especially in the shortest format of the game, Pandey said, “I think with T20 cricket, batting is a skill, which even the No 11 needs. Even if you are a No 11, you should be able to get those singles.”
While they have lost the series, there is still one more match left before India head into the Asia Cup. Looking forward, Pandey said, “We have to comeback hard and considering that we go on to play the Asia Cup, which is also a T20 tournament. These games probably are a stepping stone for us to do well in the Asia Cup. We have been champions previously (in the Asia Cup). We are not going to give it (away) easily in the last game. We are going to comeback at them and look to win that match.”
