Indian women’s cricket team once again failed to win in an ODI against the Australian team. And, head coach Amol Muzumdar believes their inability to seize the chances in the death overs proved costly for India. However, Australia registered a thrilling three-run victory in the second ODI at the Wankhede stadium on Saturday (December 30) and clinched the series as well.
Speaking after the match, Muzumdar said, “We’re in the process of building it up. There’s no doubt that our fielding was below par today. We dropped about six catches. It always happens in a game. Even they dropped a few. But having said that, we still are a work in progress. If we get time post this series, I’m sure we’ll try to spend a lot of time on fielding and fitness.”
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However, Deepti Sharma was India’s star with the ball as she finished with a stunning figure of 5 for 38. However, she struggled with the bat, managing to score a 36-ball 24 not out, and wasn’t able to win the game for India. Meanwhile, India weren’t at their best towards the end, with Pooja Vastrakar conceding 18 runs in the final over while the failed to chase 35 off the last five overs. But Muzumdar did not want to blame Deepti for the defeat but he said that India needed to get better in the death overs as well.
“At the end of the day we can all sit and say ‘oh, we missed out by three runs’ but there were about 600 balls bowled in that. So we can always go back and talk about it in hindsight. Yes, we fell short by three runs but I cannot name anyone for the defeat. It’s just a collective effort. Probably just one more shot or one more stop in the field could have done the trick,” he shared. “I think that didn’t tilt the balance but I thought that just gave the momentum to Australia a little bit going into the dressing room,” said Muzumdar about the 18-run final over. “That’s one area where I feel we need to have a look in and improve ourselves going forward, is the death overs, whether it is batting or bowling. We’ll be working hard on that.”
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“Richa, Fantastic knock, what a knock it was. Under pressure, at No.3 – a new position for her – and she’s just proven why she is spoken about highly. Her talent speaks for herself. I think probably a hundred would have been an appropriate one for her. But unfortunately she got out. I think it was a special knock,” concluded Amol Muzumdar. “Richa is our No.3, we believe that she can be a good top order player. We believe in her talent and you’ve seen what kind of shots she can play. And if she can use the first 10 overs and then play according to the situation, that is the best spot for her. At least now we feel that Richa at No.3 will be a very good choice.”
