Since the turn of the decade, the Indian women’s team has handed out 29 debuts in One-Day Internationals. Out of this, only six were batters.
For an outfit which often finds itself under the scanner for chopping and changing the squad, it has found some sort of stability in its line-up of willow-yielders in the past five years or so.
With a home World Cup later this year, the pieces of India’s bowling jigsaw puzzle are yet to be fitted into place. However, it will find solace in a strong batting unit which has truly revealed its potential, especially in the last few months.
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Piling on the runs at the top
Apart from the Women in Blue, there will be seven other nations vying for the World Cup – Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. If one looks at India’s batting data and how it stands up to these other countries between 2020 and 2024, the signs were not very encouraging.
India had a run rate of 4.98 (third-highest) amongst these nations over these four years. However, things took a drastic turn for the team, albeit for the better.
While India was handed a 3-0 whitewash by Australia Down Under in December, it went on to win 10 out of 14 ODIs since then. The losses came against Australia in that tour and against Sri Lanka in the Tri-Nation Series earlier this month.
Moreover, this winning period was marked by a significant rise in the run rate (6.20), with India topping both metrics amongst the eight nations. Its middle-order contributions also saw a major spike, from 4.88 during the 2020 to December 2024 period to 6.82 from the three-match series against Australia.
Middle order stability
The quartet of Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, and Richa Ghosh has become a dependable middle-order unit to take the game on.
India used 13 players, trying them at different positions between Nos 4-7, between 2020 and November 2024. In this period, the side’s middle order had the fifth-lowest run rate (4.88), third-lowest dot ball percentage (49.4), and third-lowest boundary percentage (7.28) amongst the countries qualified for this year’s World Cup.
In contrast, India used nine players in the middle order in the last six months and bumped up the numbers by a great deal. Its strike rate now reads 107.59 (highest), dot ball percentage at 39.1 (lowest), and boundary percentage at 12.79 (highest) compared to the other seven teams.
This improvement is also down to the quartet being used in set batting oppositions for longer periods (Harmanpreet at 4, Jemimah at 5, Richa at 6, Deepti at 7). Moreover, the four batters have been striking above 90 and resorted to attacking shots (60+ percentage).
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With Harmanpreet going better at the No. 4 slot, it has allowed Jemimah to find her rhythm at No. 5, amassing 554 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 110. She even chalked up her maiden international century during the Ireland series in January, and followed it up with a hard-fought hundred against South Africa recently.
The Top 3 solidity
However, the middle-order’s ability to take control of the game and muscle ahead is due to the platform India’s top-order creates. A major part of the improvement has been the opening partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal.
Smriti has been playing at her best, having scored six of her 11 ODI centuries since 2024. Pratika was one of the six batters to have debuted since 2020 and has been a revelation at the top for India.
Since her first match against West Indies on December 22, 2024, the right-handed batter has been dismissed for a single-digit score just once in 11 ODIs and has created an impressive average of 63.80.
Harleen Deol has also cemented her place in that No. 3 place. While she may take her time to get going (striking at 82.95 in 14 matches), Harleen turns this to her advantage by staying at the crease for longer periods and anchoring the innings, almost playing a supportive role.
With a tour to England coming up against a transitional English side which has a new coach and skipper in Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt, respectively, India’s batters will hope to sharpen their blades further with an eye on ending the country’s trophy drought at the big stage.
