What Australia can learn from their opening T20 World Cup loss to India
They were the clear favourites – the world’s No. 1 T20 side in Australia taking on a youthful and No. 4 ranked team in India. But India’s spinners dominated. Here are the key take-outs.
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They went into the game as clear favourites, but instead were completely bamboozled by a chirpy Indian spin attack and the Australian women’s cricket team must now regroup to face Sri Lanka in Perth on Monday afternoon.
Batter-keeper Alyssa Healy, who was the pick of the Aussies by making a half-century and stumping India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur, said the team would learn lessons from its 17-run loss to India on Friday night in Sydney.
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“We always talk about you can’t go through this tournament undefeated,” she said.
“Obviously you don’t want to lose the first game, but you often take more out of a loss than what you do a scratchy win. We’ll take all the positives we can.
“Probably one of the blessings of our really crazy schedule is we don’t have a lot of time to think about it and dwell about it.
“We’ll just go out there against Sri Lanka at the WACA and hopefully but a good performance on the board and get a win hopefully.”
Here are some key take-outs from the game:
HEALY’S FORM TURNAROUND
Sure, Alyssa Healy shrugged off the ongoing speculation about her batting form with a quick-fire 51 off 35, but you get the feeling she would take back her half-century if it meant her teammates had batted better. Team comes first.
Only two Australian batters made double figures against India – Healy with 51 and Ashleigh Gardner with 34 (36). The nine other Aussie batters made a combined total of 28.
The Australian coaches will be expecting a lift. And fast.
STRANO’S STUNNING STORY
Cricket is all about its opportunities: you take them when you can. Like Molly Strano. What a story! Less than a week ago the Victorian spinner wasn’t even in the 15-player Aussie squad, but in a remarkable twist of fate, the 27-year-old bowled the first over against India and finished with figures of 0/15 from two.
“She did an outstanding job,” Healy said.
“It was a great performance from her, she’s obviously in the side for that new ball bowling upfront … I think she’ll play a crucial role for us in this tournament moving forward.“
BOWLING RETHINK REQUIRED?
On Friday night, inswinger Megan Schutt’s incredible 23-game wicket-taking streak in T20 internationals – the longest of any male or female bowler – came to an end.
Schutt bowled four overs for figures of 0/35.
In her first over of the night, India’s batting prodigy in Shafali Verma hit her for 16 with four balls.
For the Aussie’s stacked bowling line-up to take only four wickets (whereas the Indians bowled Australia out with a ball to spare) would be cause for concern. However, as Healy pointed out, the fact that the bowlers were able to contain India to a total of 132 was a plus.
“We did really well to restrict them to that total and obviously just let ourselves down with the bat,” she said.
Interestingly, teenager Annabel Sutherland – presumably picked in the starting XI for her bowling since she batted at eight – wasn’t handed the ball at all, and as such you’d think the likes of spinner Georgia Wareham would be feeling a tad hard done by to not have taken the field.
The pace of the WACA would likely suit the quicks though, so expect Sutherland to play Sri Lanka.
EXPECT PERRY TO FIRE
Perry is due a big game. You could tell even before Friday’s match she was focused: once her teammates had left Sydney Showground after their warm-up and the practice nets were down, Perry stayed in the middle practicing her pace, bowling ball after ball at an assistant.
Her dismissal of India’s opener Verma – having her caught at mid-on – was a huge wicket in the game. But she disappointed with the bat and was bowled for a duck by India’s Player of the Match Poonam Yadav (Yadav finished the game with 4/15). Expect Perry to bounce back.
BIG CROWD, EXTRA PRESSURE?
Healy said walking out in front of the record-breaking crowd of 13,432 for a women’s cricket game was a special moment for all of the players, but didn’t bring any extra pressure or expectation.
“Yeah, there were nerves, but there was a level of excitement from the group that this was all happening and it was finally here,” she said.