If you thought that only Harmanpreet Kaur’s batting form was the only worry for Indian women’s cricket team, think again. The batting line up, in general, has been a big failure across formats, and that has resulted in India delivering poor results. While the Indian skipper bounced back to form with two back-to-back fifties in the Women’s T20 World Cup, that was just not enough to take them through to the semis.
IND vs NZ
Why was that? One part of the problem has also to be attributed to the struggles of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, who have been poor, tbh. In her last 7 innings in international cricket, Mandhana has only one fifty to her name, against Sri Lanka in the World Cup. On the other hand, Shafali has been poorer, with one fifty plus score against Nepal in July.
The two have been a liability at the top of the order, from which the team never ceases to recover. On Sunday, during the 2nd ODI between IND & NZ, the two failed again. Shafali was out for 11, while Mandhana could only manage a duck, while chasing 260.
Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana’s Form Worries
In the 5 ODIs this year, Shafali has only scored 96 runs at an average of 19. Her highest score has been 33 only. Her strike rate has been a poor 80. Mandhana, this year has been good in ODIs, but her recent form has been worrisome. In the 6 matches in 2024, she has scored 377 at an average of over 60, in the last two innings, she has only scored 5. That problem becomes even more apparent with her scores in T20Is, where she has only scored 12, 7, 50, 6 in the last four matches.
