India falter in chase after Renuka Thakur

Back Smriti, Richa and Renuka to be vital picks

India will need to recover as soon as possible from their loss against England, starting with the clash against Ireland on Monday. Ireland are yet to open their account in the tournament, having lost all their three games thus far, against England, Pakistan and then West Indies. 

Will they spring a surprise by winning the clash against India? 

St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth hasn’t been the most kind of surfaces for the batters. Across eight innings, the average first-innings total here at the venue has been 124, which surely hasn’t been a winning total. Teams who have looked to win here have tried to post a total in the region of 150-155. 

But majorly it has been a venue that has aided both the type of bowlers – pacers and spinners – with 38 wickets in eight innings. While the pacers have picked up 22 wickets, averaging 19.2, the spinners have picked up 16 wickets, averaging 34. So yet again, the onus will be on Renuka to give India the early breakthroughs. 

Not just that, at this venue, the pacers have averaged 19.9 in the powerplay, unlike spinners who have an average of 126. Even if India open the bowling with Deepti Sharma, all eyes would on the right-arm pacer.

Grand League Punts

–    In four T20Is this year, Richa Ghosh has been in sensational form for the Women in Blue, with 122 runs without being dismissed. She’s the only Indian batter who has scored with a strike-rate of 141.9, with a boundary every 5.4 deliveries. If the top-order fails, she might yet again be crucial for India.

–    The 20-year-old Orla Prendergast has been a major driving force in this campaign for Ireland. In their three games thus far, the right-hander has scored 17, 31 and 61 and across all the three innings looked like the best batter for the country. Against the Indian bowling unit, who have a lot of spinners, the right-hander could be integral.