By Trisha Ghosal in Indore
India will be taking on England in a crucial World Cup clash at Indore in a little over 48 hours. So far, India have been getting their combination wrong. While on paper they seem to be playing five bowlers, in reality it’s more like 4.5. Amanjot Kaur isn’t a new-ball bowler, which puts additional pressure on the young Kranti Gaud to deliver early breakthroughs. Against England, India must play Renuka Singh Thakur. The only question is, who does she replace in the XI?
Ideally, the choice should be between Harleen Deol and Jemimah Rodrigues, but that seems unlikely. After the match against Australia, head coach Amol Muzumdar addressed the press and, when asked about shuffling the top five batters, said, “We have a fairly settled batting line-up, and I wouldn’t want to shuffle it too much.” If the management isn’t ready to tweak the batting order, they won’t drop a batter to fit in an extra bowler. That means the axe has to fall on either Amanjot or one of the spinners.
At Indore, two games have been played so far, and it’s been clear that the surface is among the best for batting. Of the 30 wickets that have fallen, 16 have gone to pacers and 14 to spinners, an almost even split. England’s batters, despite their reputation, have been inconsistent throughout this World Cup. Against Bangladesh, they were reduced to 78 for 5 chasing just 179. In the next game against Sri Lanka, apart from Nat Sciver-Brunt’s century, no one even crossed 35. And versus Pakistan, they collapsed to 78 for 7. England’s batting hasn’t fired collectively; it’s been about individual brilliance rather than team stability, which makes Renuka’s inclusion all the more crucial.
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Tammy Beaumont, in particular, has struggled against the inswinger. In her last four matches against India, she’s fallen thrice for single-digit scores, once to Renuka and twice to Kranti Gaud, all three times beaten by the ball moving in. Even in this World Cup, both Marufa Akter and Diana Baig dismissed her with big inswingers. Against Pakistan, Heather Knight and Sciver-Brunt, England’s mainstays, also fell to inswingers. All signs point to one conclusion: India must play Renuka Singh Thakur.
Just as Australia fielded Sophie Molineux against India because Indian batters have a weakness against left-arm spin, and though she went for runs, she picked up three wickets, India must also play the match-up game. For India, the next three games are absolutely crucial, and bringing in a proper bowler is the first step in the right direction.
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