Former Indian Captain Anjum Chopra reckons that starter Smriti Mandhana’s struggles against Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner hurt the team badly in the T20 Women’s World Cup semifinal on Thursday, February 23.
India Women fell to Australia Women by five runs in the knockout clash played at Newlands in Cape Town. Set to chase 173, the Women in Blue lost their two starters, Mandhana (two) and Shafali Verma (nine), on the cheap. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (52) and Jemimah Rodrigues (43 of 24) lifted the team, but India came up short in the end.
While India Women’s vice-captain Mandhana reached the semi-final clash after two consecutive fifties, Gardner held the upper hand in the matchup against the lefty. Sharing his thoughts on Mandhana’s matches against Gardner, Chopra said on his YouTube channel:
“Ashleigh Gardner has sent off Smriti Mandhana four times in T20I, the fourth instance being the semi-final. If you succumb to a bowler so often, how can the team have any hope of you?
WOMEN’S T20 CRICKET WORLD CUP 2023Semi-Final 1 | 🇦🇺 Australia vs 🇮🇳 IndiaWICKETSmriti Mandhana (2 runs scored)lbw b GardnerFALL OF WICKETIND 15 – 22.2 oversOriginal Call: Not OutCall changed to ‘Out’, following reviewImage Credits: Sky Sports https://t.co/6JAR6PgTXy
Mandhana was pinned just in front of the stumps as she stayed on her back foot on an armbar from Gardner.
Analyzing Shafali’s ground, he added that the youngster’s sacking hinted at the Indian team’s lack of homework. The 45-year-old man explained:
“Shafali Verma also fell due to a misjudgment. It was the umpire’s call on lbw, but he should have known that Megan Schutt would have thrown two balls out, but brought the third in. Schutt has also worried Shafali in the past, but I couldn’t see any tasks on the ground.”
Chopra believes that 173 was an achievable target if Shafali and Mandhana had gotten India off to a strong start. She commented:
“173 was a target that India could have gone after because they went after 180 against Australia in the past. Every time Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana give India a good start, the team performs differently. But India did not have that desired start.
After the starters perished financially, Yastika Bhatia was also left without four. A fourth-wicket stand of 69 between Harmanpreet and Rodrigues then raised India’s hopes.
“India’s fielding was really poor” – Anjum Chopra
India Women dropped a couple of key catches in the semi-final, bringing Beth Mooney and Meg Lanning to life. Describing India’s field in the knockout match as poor, Chopra commented:
“If India had held on to their chances…they missed two catches. There are many weaknesses in the Indian team regarding their field. Batting and bowling are very important, but fielding is more important than that.
“India’s fielding was really poor and those who followed the match realized how India allowed Australia to reach the score they eventually did.”
Mooney top-scored for Australia on 54 of 37 balls, while Lanning was unbeaten on 49* of 34.