Smriti Mandhana will play an important role in India tour (Twitter)
A comprehensive performance from Australia saw them beat India by 9 wickets in the first ODI of the three-match over.
- IANS
- Last Update:September 23, 2021, 7:43 pm IS
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India women’s team batting coach Shiv Sundar Das on Friday backed opener Smriti Mandhana to get big runs ahead of the second ODI against Australia. Smriti was dismissed for 10 in the tour match and scored just 16 runs in India’s nine-wicket loss to Australia on Tuesday. Her role in the top-order becomes more important when Das confirmed that Harmanpreet Kaur will not be available for the second ODI due to a thumb injury.
“I had a one-on-one conversation with her (Mandhana) and in the last two seasons we have worked hard in the nets. We have resolved some issues and since he is a world class player, and we are supporting his ability to score runs for us. Definitely we will see the difference in tomorrow’s game,” Das said in a virtual press conference on Thursday.
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Das mentioned that the Indian team is working on some areas like running between the wickets in the middle overs and scoring more in the first ten overs of the innings. “In the first ten overs we have addressed the issue. In the middle overs, running between the wickets is one area we are still working on. It is a work in progress. We have some young batsmen. This is a good side and you have to give them some time. Once they get used to the conditions, they will definitely start a fire.”
Das had confidence in Smriti and Shafali Verma to give India a good start with the bat in the second ODI. “I interacted with them (players) face-to-face and in the nets, we have tried a few things. It’s about how individuals react to the game. We have Shafali Verma and Smriti at the start of the innings, so basically we are looking for a good start. I am very positive as a batting coach that they will start well. If we get 60-70 runs in the first 10 overs, we can carry that momentum to the middle overs,” concluded Das.
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