Takeaways: India’s New Heroes Shine Bright in Gritty Series Win, But Top-Order and Injury Woes Persist

There are some series victories which are won by huge individual performances. But then, there are some victories which are won by the entire team, and their taste is even sweeter. 

India’s 2-1 series victory against England was of the second type as the non-star players finally came through and showed their mettle. From Deepti Sharma’s brilliant chase in the first match, Sneh Rana’s superb bowling, Jemimah Rodrigues’s gem of a fifty in the decider, to Kranti Goud’s rise as a bowler — India has had new players raising their hands almost every game, showing how there’s a lot of positive energy flowing. 

That’s why the fielding was superb in this series as well, and the energy on the field from the Indian team was great to watch. Probably, in the end, that was the difference between the two teams, as India took spectacular catches and kept it tight in the field. 

However, not everything was honky-dory. Here are some key takeaways from this series, keeping in mind the ODI World Cup that’s starting in two months time back home in India. 

Pratika Rawal Fails The Biggest Test Of Her ODI Career So Far

Pratika Rawal justified the selectors' decision to pick her as an opener in the ODI side ahead of the flamboyant but inconsistent Shafali Verma, much like a seasoned attorney. India needed consistency from their opening partnership, and she gave it better than probably anyone else. 

In just 14 innings of opening the innings, she has had 10 50-plus partnerships for the first wicket with Smriti Mandhana. The reason behind it is simple: while Rawal isn’t exactly a quick scorer while starting the innings, her technique is quite solid, and so far, she hardly ever gets out in the first 10 overs. It’s also a happy coincidence that Mandhana has been in the form of her life since the latter half of 2024, and that has coincided with Rawal’s inclusion in the Indian ODI side where she has played brilliantly. 

However, amidst all these great records, there’s a big catch: Rawal was yet to play either of England or Australia. Even when Rawal faced South Africa, it was a depleted Proteas side.

Against England, who mind you, only had Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean bowling well for them, she could score only 65 in three innings at an average of 21.7. Her strike rate was the bigger issue as she struck at only 69.2, putting all the pressure on Mandhana to do the scoring. Her lack of strike rotation was exposed in the series as well. 

While she definitely has potential, and can also bat at number three, there’s a lot that she needs to work on against stronger teams. 

Harleen is doing more harm than good at number three

Harleen Deol had had a good run of form at number three until the England series. However, just like Rawal, those runs came against relatively lower-ranked oppositions. Against England, she scored only 88 runs in three innings at an abysmal strike rate of just 66.2. 

Not only did her slow batting sucked the momentum out of India’s innings, it also harmed the other batters like Mandhana, who were forced to play risky shots to increase the run-rate. That’s exactly what happened in the series decider in Durham, as Harleen had scored only five runs in 17 balls when Mandhana had to manufacture a pull shot against Sophie Ecclestone. 

With Rawal also batting slow at the top, India will face even more issues against the likes of Australia due to two of the top three batters batting at really slow strike-rates. 

Kranti Goud - the find of the series

She bowls consistently above 105kmph. She moves the ball into the right-handers at a really skiddy pace. Displays brilliant seam position. And then, can come at the death, bowl to her field, and also nail yorkers!

Kranti Goud is just 21 years old, but already appears to be a player who can play for India for a long time if she maintains her fitness and the team setup continues to support her. What’s even more remarkable for the youngster is that she can continue hitting a length, and then moving the ball both ways from the same spot, which brings immense doubt in the batter’s mind while facing her. 

In the series decider, she displayed all the above skills, but getting two wickets at the top, and then three in the death overs by nailing yorkers and bowling to her field. She is certainly one for the future, as she became the youngest Indian woman to pick up a six-wicket haul in ODI cricket, surpassing the legendary Jhulan Goswami in the process. She was also the leading wicket-taker in the series across both sides. 

What’s happening with Indian pacers and injuries

Kashvee Gautam. Renuka Singh Thakur. Titas Sadhu. Pooja Vastrakar. Amanjot Kaur. 

As many as three pace bowling allrounders and two genuine pacers are currently injured in the Indian women’s ecosystem, and we have no updates about the status of those injuries and what’s happening to them. Moreover, in cases like Amanjot, the secretive silence raises serious questions of injury management in Indian women's cricket setup. 

In the third ODI, which was also the series decider, India were a pacer short as Arundhati Reddy had failed to do the job with the ball, and Amanjot was injured. In that situation, Kranti was the only pacer. 

As a result, despite being 22/2 at the end of 10 overs, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb were able to notch up a huge century partnership, and on many occasions in the chase, England could smell victory because the batters were playing the Indian spinners too easily. The similarity of bowlers was too evident. 

The selectors need to look after this problem, because come the World Cup, it can cause India a serious problem.