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Pratika’s absence sends India think tank scrambling
Mumbai: As if it isn't already tough enough to take on an Australian side brimming with daggers in its armoury in a semi-final, India have also been thrown a spanner in the works.
Opener Pratika Rawal was ruled out from the knockouts of the ICC Women's World Cup after the nasty fall in the co-hosts' weather-abandoned match against Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai on Sunday evening. Shafali Verma, whose spot Pratika took in India's ODI setup, was approved as replacement by the International Cricket Council's event technical committee.
The jarring and twisting of Pratika's right ankle on a rain-soaked DY Patil Stadium outfield appeared bad on first look, and the worst possibility from an Indian team viewpoint became apparent on Monday, two days ahead of the semi-final against the mighty defending champions.
The 25-year-old was in the midst of a breakthrough World Cup debut, hitting her peak form at the business end. Her quality 122 in India's penultimate group match against New Zealand on the same ground set the platform for a crucial India victory, and made her the tournament's second-highest run scorer (308 runs in 7 innings at an average of 51.33).
Although her strike rate (77.77) was a point of contention, she played her part in forging a solid combination with the one above her on the top-scorers' chart, Smriti Mandhana. The duo was involved in two of the tournament's top five partnerships, one of them against Australia (155) in their group stage encounter.
“The timing of the injury is very unfortunate, coming just before a semi-final against Australia,” said former India captain Diana Edulji. “Pratika was looking really good, especially in her century against New Zealand. It's just bad luck.”
Their opening act was one of the few aspects operating on autopilot in the Indian batting order this World Cup. Now, Smriti will have to get the team running with a new co-pilot. One that would not have batted at the top all tournament, or even of late after Pratika made her international debut in December 2024.
Shafali, the swashbuckling opener who has scored 644 runs in 29 ODIs, did not find her name even in the reserves after dip in form. From the original list named by the selectors in August, Uma Chetry was bumped up into the squad from the reserves after Yastika Bhatia was ruled out with a knee injury.
Shafali, however, has been doing well in domestic cricket for Haryana of late. Although in a different format, she is the leading run-scorer in the ongoing Senior Women's T20 Trophy, with 341 runs in 9 matches at an average of 56.83 and strike rate of 182.35. In the World Cup warm-up game against New Zealand in Bengaluru, she hit 70 off 49 balls. The 21-year-old has also partnered Smriti in the past with reasonable success.
Edulji said the team management should go with the replacement player for the semi-final.
“I would say the best option is definitely to go with Shafali. She is currently playing domestic cricket and has been doing well, so it's not like she has no cricket under her belt,” said Edulji. “Even someone like Humairaa Kaazi (the Mumbai opener has the fourth highest runs in the domestic T20 tournament), who has scored a lot of runs lately, could have been tried out.”
Amanjot Kaur was tried out in the chase against Bangladesh and remained unbeaten on 15 off 25 in a 57-run opening stand when rain abandoned play. The team management may look at some other options within the squad too, should it be wary of throwing in Shafali straightaway for the knockout.
Jemimah Rodrigues played a brilliant innings at No.3 against New Zealand. The Mumbai batter has opened in 18 of her 57 ODIs between 2018 and 2021, and also shares a good rapport with Smriti.
Harleen Deol, the primary No.3, has never opened but plays a similar game style to Pratika and likes to anchor the innings.
Chetry has opened in the World Cup warm-up games and also in T20Is. She can also keep wicket, especially if Richa Ghosh, who copped a blow on her finger against New Zealand and sat out of the Bangladesh match, also isn't a 100 percent.
Whether they throw in Shafali or pull out someone from within, Pratika's injury has left the think tank with plenty to ponder. For a semi-final against Australia, no less.
Source: HindustanTimes
Related Posts: Pratika Rawal,India,ICC Womens World Cup,Cricket,Shafali Verma,Mumbai
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