India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has expressed concern about the high number of dot balls that her team is playing, especially with a possible semifinal clash against defending champions Australia in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup looming on the horizon. Dot balls, where the batter fails to score a run off a delivery, can put pressure on a team's scoring rate and lead to wickets falling.
After playing 51 dot balls in their 11-run loss to England, India showed some improvement by playing 41 dot balls in their rain-affected victory over Ireland in their final Group B match at Gqeberha on Monday. But Harmanpreet knows that they will need to reduce that number even further if they hope to compete with a team like Australia.
In a post-match press conference, Harmanpreet revealed that the team had discussed the issue of dot balls in previous meetings and were aware of the importance of scoring runs, especially in crucial matches like the semifinals. She emphasized the need to keep a level head and not put too much pressure on themselves, while acknowledging that they would need to improve their performance in the upcoming match.
"World Cup games are always something where both the teams are always under pressure. In these matches, if 150 is on the board, you're always in the upper hand. We are not putting too much pressure on ourselves. We are just going there and understanding what conditions are there and just playing according to the situation. And dot balls are something which is already worrying us. And I think (in) the next game, we would love to see some improvement in that area also."
The possibility of a semifinal clash against Australia is something that Harmanpreet is relishing, given the confidence that her team gained from playing against them in a bilateral series last year, even though India lost that series by 4-1.
"That series gave us a lot of confidence. The brand of cricket we played in that particular series was something which gave us a lot of confidence. And now we know them very well, we played five games back-to-back and then one practice game, we know, their strength, their weakness, we know what we have to do."
Harmanpreet believes that playing against a champion side like Australia in a bilateral series was a huge confidence booster for her team, and they have a fair idea of how to go about the next game. She acknowledged that there would be equal pressure on both teams and that the team that performs better in every moment would emerge victorious.
"There will be equal pressure because our team has been doing well for many years, and obviously, Australia has played very well in this tournament. They have been unbeaten and have always been doing well. And when we get a chance to play against them, our motive is to play good cricket."
India finished second in Group B, with two wins from three matches, behind England. They will now face the winner of the Group A, either South Africa or England, in the semifinals.