Smriti Mandhana looked remarkably calm after a defeat that, on paper, seemed bruising. Australia’s 412 for 7 in Delhi, their joint-highest women’s one-day score, left India chasing a mountain. Mandhana’s response – a 63-ball 125, her hundred arriving in just 50 balls – hinted, for a while, that the climb was possible. In the end India were bowled out for 369 and slipped to a 2-1 series loss, but the vice-captain’s mood was anything but gloomy.
“Everyone [in the Indian side] is a match-winner – not only [the] 11 but all the 15 who are part of the team are match-winners,” Mandhana said, the point delivered with emphasis. “I never look at anyone thinking that they are adding any pressure on me or anyone, for that case.”
Key facts first, then. Mandhana finished as the series’ leading scorer with 300 runs, including a match-winning century in the second ODI. Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma chipped in with half-centuries during the chase on Sunday, yet regular wickets – plus a bout of wayward running – meant the required rate never felt fully under control.
Where Mandhana was happiest, she explained, was the collective confidence within the group. “Secondly I have a huge belief in the whole team, that from any point we can still win the match. That is never going to change with one or two results. If you see in the last 12-odd months we’ve got 300 or 300-plus even when I’ve got out so that doesn’t really say anything about the batting reliance on anyone. Pratika [Rawal], Harleen [Deol], Jemimah [Rodrigues], Harman, everyone’s got a hundred in the last 12 months.”
The bigger issue, by her own admission, lies in the field. India spilled 15 chances over three matches – far too many against a side that punishes most half-chances, let alone full ones.
“Australia is a great opposition to test ourselves [against] in terms of where we are lacking,” Mandhana noted. “[…] It was a good series in terms of understanding our strengths and where we are lacking. There’s a lot of difference [between the teams] in the fielding. Fielding part is one thing which as a team we are on a rise but we also feel there are days where we look like a [good] fielding side and there are days where we don’t.”
She expanded on the same theme. “That’s about how we find the consistency in the team in terms of fielding as a unit and not individual brilliance, but fielding together as a team. That’s one thing which we thought we have to address before the World Cup. Otherwise, for everyone, it was just about [getting] the feel of the Indian conditions and how we really want to go forward.”
The upcoming 50-over World Cup, scheduled for early next year, understandably framed most of the post-series chatter. Mandhana believes the raw materials are present; it is mainly about polish. She singled out the younger players’ attitude as a tangible plus.
“The series was not like it was going to make us believe that we’ll win the World Cup. That belief is always there,” she said. “This series is just for us in terms of understanding what is going right and what’s going wrong because Australia is the best opposition to test it out [against].”
“We’ve had a great 12 months at home but we did not play Australia at home in the last 12 months. [We have taken back] a lot of positives, a lot of things in terms of what we want to work on. As long as that willingness to” – she paused, smiled, and left the sentence hanging, the message clear enough.
India’s next assignment is a short three-match trip to Bangladesh in November. Expect a few extra fielding drills before the bags are packed.
