In the ICC ladies’s T20 World Cup 2024, India’s ladies lost to New Zealand’s women by a dismal 58 runs. Sanjay Bangar, the former men’s batting coach for India, discussed the difficulties the squad was facing. Bangar talked about the Women in Blue’s poor fielding standards and the challenging nature of Twenty20 cricket.
India’s long-standing issue of poor fielding was made clear in the most recent game versus New Zealand. Before the T20 World Cup, the Indian fielders underwent intense preparation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), yet it seemed like they missed a lot of opportunities, which ultimately cost them.
In response to a question on Star Sports Press Room, Sanjay Bangar brought up the challenge of continuing to rule T20 cricket.
“You see, we have to acknowledge that World Cup victories are uncommon. Hence, in multi-team World Cup events, you won’t find a side that consistently dominates the other teams. Furthermore, it’s specifically this format [T20s]. At that point, you can insert a finger if the format was 50-over. However, no team has consistently won back-to-back tournaments in the T20 format, which has occurred in the greatest league, the IPL,” he stated.
The former coach also discussed how challenging it is to dominate in a game’s shortest format because any team can demonstrate that they are superior to the opposition. Even the men’s team has setbacks, he noted, but winning in this format is challenging.
“The fact that no team has regularly dominated in the T20 men’s World Cup is also true. Therefore, domination in a format such as T20 is a very, very hard thing to attain. You can be a little bit below average in the [T20] format, but you can also punch above your weight and defeat a more formidable squad.
Because you know that any team can beat anybody on their day, that’s the beauty of this format and the reason that watching Twenty20 cricket is so fascinating and intense,” Bangar continued.
During the powerplay in the match against the White Ferns, Richa Ghosh mishandled a top-edged catch off Suzie Bates’ bat, and Renuka misfielded, conceding a boundary. These were just two of the many lost catching opportunities.
With Sophie Devine hitting an undefeated 57 off just 36 balls, the Kiwis were able to score 160/4. Under duress, India’s batting order collapsed, scoring just 102 runs in 19 overs.
Also Read: Women’s T20WC 2024: India’s fielding coach lifts team morale after New Zealand’s loss in tournament opener
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team will get over their most recent setback and concentrate on their upcoming match on October 6 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai against their bitter rivals, Pakistan Women.