Snehasis Mukherjee in Indore
Team India had an intense and entertaining practice session at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, as they began preparations for their next ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup clash against England. It was a packed session with all players in attendance.
Jemimah Rodrigues and Amanjot Kaur hit the nets early before heading indoors for another round. In two separate nets, Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal batted in rotation. In the other, Harleen Deol and captain Harmanpreet Kaur took turns.
Sneh Rana, N Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy, and two net bowlers — one right-arm pacer and one leg-spinner — bowled to Smriti and Pratika.
Pratika had a short session and was later seen chatting with a support staff, working on her stance and shadow practice.Smriti, as usual, had a long session and became the centre of attention for her fun yet competitive battle with Arundhati.
Arundhati bowled cleverly, mixing her pace and using slower deliveries. On a few occasions, she claimed to have got Smriti out, but the vice-captain disagreed with a confident smile.
The friendly banter drew laughter, though Smriti did punish some of Arundhati’s slower balls. When Arundhati finally beat her once or twice, she celebrated, and Sneh Rana had to step in as an umpire to settle the debate. It was all in good spirits, turning the session into a lively one.
Smriti also appeared focused on her technique. After every round, she walked to the other end to check her footwork and review the batting videos being recorded by a support staff. She discussed corrections and went back for another round.
In the other nets, Harmanpreet and Harleen faced Renuka Singh Thakur, Deepti Sharma, Kranti Gaud, a left-arm orthodox bowler and a left-handed throwdown specialist.
Harleen looked solid, playing crisp shots and showing good defence. Later, Deepti managed to trouble her a bit with changes in pace. Deepti also bowled beautifully to Harmanpreet, deceiving her a few times.
Renuka looked sharp and in rhythm, a good sign ahead of the England match. Harmanpreet began her session by attacking short deliveries from the throwdown specialist — hitting backfoot punches, deft touches to third, and some pulls and hooks.
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She then played a few elegant cover drives but again looked a bit uncomfortable against short of good length deliveries that have troubled her recently, edging a few towards point.
Richa Ghosh had a long wicketkeeping session — first in the nets and later on, on the other side of the stadium with a distractor set-up in front of the stumps, from which the ball deflects at unexpected angles. She was working hard, taking feedback, and discussing her drills with the support staff.
After that, she batted and had her own little battle with Arundhati. Before each over, Arundhati even told Richa where her fielders were, adding to the competitive fun.
Towards the end, players like Amanjot, Jemimah, Charani, and Arundhati did a high-catching session under the lights. Finally, everyone had a short stint in the indoor nets, with bowlers also getting a chance to bat — wrapping up an eventful session.
India take on England in a crucial match on October 19. England are leading the table with seven points from four matches. India have four from four, following consecutive defeats against South Africa and Australia.
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