The India Women’s team would expect a better show from their top-order batters as they eye a series-clinching victory against hosts Bangladesh in the third and final ODI on Saturday.
After a shocking defeat in the series opener, which was also India’s first loss to Bangladesh, Harmanpreet Kaur’s team bounced back in the second game with a 108-run win.
It is their batting which has given the Indians a headache in their tour of Bangladesh as the tricky pitches have continuously tested them. The visitors were bundled out for a meagre 113 in the first game.
The second match though saw the Indians regaining a bit of their touch with captain Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues playing good knocks. While Jemimah hit a career-best 86, the skipper too got a half-century.
But the others need to step up with the bat. Star opener and team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has been ordinary in her performances so far. She aggregates only 47 runs from the two ODIs.
The other opener, Priya Punia, who replaced the out-of-form Shafali Verma in the ODI series, too has failed to impress on her comeback.
The 26-year-old has managed scores of 10 and 7 so far.
It also needs to be seen if fitness is a hindrance for Harmanpreet as she had picked up a wrist injury in the last game and was off the field for quite some time.
The Indian bowlers, particularly the spinners, though have excelled on this tour. In the last game, leg-spinner Devika Vaidya and part-timer Jemimah, who had a career-best 4/3, shared seven wickets between them.
Match starts: 9am IST
Written with inputs from PTI
