PALLEKELE, June 30: Starting a new era in 50-over cricket without the peerless Mithali Raj, the newly-appointed skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, will seek an improved performance across departments from her players as Indian women eye a winning start against hosts Sri Lanka in a three-match series, starting Friday.
India will be without their two pillars – Mithali, who retired from cricket earlier this month, and Jhulan Goswami, who is nursing a side strain.
The absence of women’s international cricket’s most prolific duo is just one of several concerns for captain Kaur ahead of the ODI series opener.
The Indians made a positive start to the tour of the island nation by winning the T20I series 2-1 but their performance was far from perfect and while the format will change, the regulars in the side would be keen to put up a dominant display against the lowly-ranked (ninth) Sri Lanka.
“It is new journey for me also,” Kaur, who was handed the ODI captaincy after Mithali retired, said at the pre-match press conference.
“My main motive is to improve our fitness and fielding. These are the two areas where I personally want the team to do well in,” she added.
The batters struggled on the slow track at Dambulla, unable to breach the 140-run mark in all three T20Is and the likes of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma would hope for a better and consistent show in the 50-over format.
The last time India played a 50 over match was during the World Cup in March, when they failed to qualify for the semi-finals. The Indian batting unit has failed to fire as a group back then and would be eager to rectify its weaknesses.
Kaur herself has been in good touch. After finishing as the highest run-getter for her side in the T20 series, it will auger well for India if the skipper can continue her top form alongside all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar.
Young wicketkeeper Richa Gosh, who shone in the in the series against New Zealand earlier this year, will be on the look-out for a good show even though team management used Yastika Bhatia as a stop-gap keeper in one of the T20I games.
With the seasoned Jhulan not in the side, the young and relatively inexperienced fast bowling unit comprising Vastrakar, Simran Bahadur, Meghna Singh and Renuka Singh will be tested by the Lankan batting line-up headlined by Chamari Athapaththu.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be keen to keep the winning momentum going after picking a conciliatory victory in the last T20I.
The hosts performed as a cohesive unit with all department firing. On the bowling front, the spin duo of Inoka Ranaweera and Oshadi Ranasinghe have been the stand-out players, doing most of the heavy lifting.
Match starts at 10 am IST. (PTI)
