Indian women’s team head coach Amol Muzumdar has said that the team is well aware that one of the top order batters needs to score a hundred to remain afloat in the upcoming games, adding that the strike rate of the girls isn’t a big concern for the team.
On Wednesday, Muzumdar backed India’s struggling batters in the Women’s World Cup, saying that a big knock from them is just around the corner.
India need a win against New Zealand to reach the final four stage, but for that, the hosts will require their batters to come to the party in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.
While Indian batters continue to chase a World Cup hundred this edition, the strike-rates of opener Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol underscore the top-order’s struggle to accelerate.
“We are
well aware that a three-figure mark has not come in this World Cup. But if you look at the past year-and-a-half, the 18 months that have passed before the World Cup, we have definitely had a lot of hundreds that we have seen than ever before, I guess,” Muzumdar said while speaking at the pre-match press conference.
“Yes, the three-figure mark hasn’t been reached,” the coach added. But he dismissed the notion of Indian batters being under pressure due to a lack of individual big scores.
“I don’t think there is a lot of load on anyone. We have had honest discussions about it and the players have also been honest that instead of a fifty, we could have converted that into a hundred,” Muzumdar said.
“They are aware of it and I am hopeful that it will come in the next couple of games,” Muzumdar added.
The coach was not concerned about Rawal and Harleen’s sub-80 strike rates, noting that the duo has managed just one fifty between them in 10 innings.
“If you look at Pratika Rawal’s progression from last December when she made her debut in international cricket, she averages around 50 (47.04) and her strike rate is around 82-83,” Muzumdar said.
