SERIES PREVIEW
Follow Us8th June 2022: One of the legends of Indian cricket, Mithali Raj, bid adieu to the sport after two decades with an emotional post in the afternoon on her social media handle announcing her decision to step away from the game.
And a few hours later, the selectors announced the team for the white-ball series against Sri Lanka with Harmanpreet Kaur at the helm.
While the swashbuckling batter has been the leader of the side in the shortest format for the past couple of seasons, it will be slightly different for her and the Indian team as they set foot in a new era without the experience of Mithali and Jhulan Goswami in the side.
However, the immediate goal for the 32-year-old will be to finalise the combinations for the Women in Blue ahead of the all-important Commonwealth games.
Women's cricket is set to make its maiden appearance in the games, and there ain't any doubt that the pressure will be rocketing sky-high on the eight teams fighting for the coveted trophy.
While India are one of the favourites to clinch the title with a plethora of stars, there is one team who has consistently performed in the qualifiers of the tournament to stake a claim for themselves in the top eight sides.
Yes, we are talking about Sri Lanka, who won the ICC Commonwealth Games Qualifier in Kuala Lumpur earlier in the year to secure their place in the high-voltage tournament.
The island nation led by Chamari Athapaththu has been one of the most improved sides in recent times and will be itching to make their mark in the international arena.
While they endured a dismal outing against Pakistan and lost the series away from home, Sri Lanka will aim for a resurgent performance against a formidable Indian unit, especially in the shortest format.
Onus on Chamari Athapaththu
And speaking about resurgence, the home team will be heavily reliant on their skipper, Athapaththu to shoulder the responsibility of the side and lead from the front to help Sri Lanka get back into winning ways.
In the last series against Pakistan, the southpaw managed to score only 48 runs in the three innings at an average of 16 and a strike rate of 96, resulting in Sri Lanka struggling in the batting unit and succumbing to a 3-0 whitewash.
With a relatively young and inexperienced side, the onus will be on Athapaththu to consolidate the innings and guide the team out of challenging situations.
The 32-year-old is the leading run-scorer for the side in the shortest format with 1915 runs in 90 innings and will be the key player for the team in the upcoming games. There ain't any doubt on her ability and skillset as a player, and it is fair to say that the fortunes of the Sri Lankan side in the batting unit will depend on the performance of their skipper.
Focus on India's batting muddle
The finalists of the last edition of the T20 World Cup, all eyes will be on the Indian team as they foot on English shores aiming to erase the scars of the recent World Cup debacle in the land of the Kiwis.
One of the significant areas of concern for the Women in Blue in the past couple of years has been the middle-order muddle. With Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana set to shoulder the responsibility of the side at the top of the order, it will be interesting to see the strategy deployed by Harmanpreet in finalising her playing XI for the first game.
With Jemimah Rodrigues returning to the squad after her brilliant run in the Women's T20 Challenge and the emergence of S Meghana as an attacking option, batting resources look formidable, to say the least.
However, one of the glaring issues with the Indian side has been the lack of consistency showcased by the batting unit in helping the team post a formidable first-innings total on the board or set a platform to chase down a target.
The team management would hope for the batters to make optimum use of these three matches to understand their role and responsibility in the side and help them get into the groove ahead of what is touted to be a record-breaking event.
India squad:
Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Meghna, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav.
Sri Lanka Squad:
Chamari Athapaththu (Captain), Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeevani, Oshadhi Ranasinghe, Sugandika Kumari, Inoka Ranaweeram, Achini Kulasuriya, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Malsha Shehani, Ama Kanchana, Udeshika Prabodhani, Rashmi de Silva, Hansima Karunaratne, Kaushani Nuthyangana, Sathya Sandeepani, Tharika Sewwandi.
