India’s fielding takes a giant leap

India vs Australia, Women’s T20 World Cup final: Emphasis on speed & strength has improved the T20 World Cup finalists’ fielding agility and technique

Four wins out of four paints a commanding picture, but, look closer at the performance of the Indian team at the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, and what emerges are closely-fought games where a missed chance in the field could have been the difference between victory and defeat.

Under coach WV Raman, the India women players took part in four camps since June 2019, with a focus on strength and speed work.(Getty Images)

And these are chances that just a couple of years back the Indian team missed routinely; while Shafali Verma’s dazzling batting and Poonam Yadav’s mesmeric leg spin has drawn all the attention, it’s India’s drastically improved fielding that’s gone under the radar.

India’s wins en route to the final (on March 8, against Australia) have all come in relatively low scoring encounters—the rest of the batting line up have not kept up with Verma. It’s a combination of incisive bowling and sharp fielding that suffocated the opponents as they tried to chase—Australia faltered chasing 132 in the opening game, and New Zealand could not get to 133.

Even when India bowled first in their last league match, against Sri Lanka, it was the fielding which proved to be the difference. India pulled off some really good catches with Veda Krishnamurthy leading the way with two fine efforts in the deep to derail Sri Lanka’s middle-order and restrict them to 113.

In contrast, Sri Lanka dropped India’s top-scorer Verma twice.

“Their (India players) average height and limb length is much shorter than the players from teams like Australia, England and South Africa, but they are now negating their physical advantage with superior technique, the way we position ourselves and how we dive and slide,” says Biju George, who was the fielding coach of the women’s team from 2017 to November 2019, and largely credited for changing the fielding culture in the team.

“Most of all, it’s the attitude in the field. Our players are now ‘like we own the turf and you are not going to go past us’,” adds Biju, who is now the fielding coach for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

It’s not just that players from Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand are taller or stronger, they also came through a far better system, with their training centres treating fitness protocols for men and women cricketers with equal emphasis.

To right these imbalances, coach WV Raman planned four camps since last June, with a focus on strength and speed work. The first camp was of 20 days, then two of 10 days each, and final one 10 days before the World Cup.

Earlier, says Biju, some of the women players’ throws from the boundary would not reach, but now some, like Deepti Sharma, throw as hard as anyone, including male players.

“Deepti is the best thrower in the world, I have coached some IPL teams and her throw is as hard as anybody,” he says. “You can’t take a second run on her throw.”

Agility too has improved by leaps—Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana have been especially impressive—their athleticism on the field a result of sprint training.

“Veda dives well and moves well,” Biju points out. “Jemimah is a livewire; she is very alert to the situation and quick in the field. She also has a very good throw. Mandhana covers so much distance, and I have never seen her drop a catch. Radhav Yadav tries very hard, is very versatile and can field at any position.”

But perhaps the best of the lot is 22-year-old Taniya Bhatia behind the stumps, a woman who, with six catches and three stumpings—the highest in the tournament—played a crucial role in India’s four wins.

“Taniya has quick hands, gathers well with soft palms and moves well,” Biju says. “She is good standing up to the spinners as well as pacers.”

There is another aspect to India’s fielding performance, and that’s the tactical acumen of their captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

“Harmanpreet’s field setting is brilliant. She gets the right player in the right position,” says Biju. “For example, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, who is a left-hander, is at backward point, and I saw her taking a good catch against Australia (opener Beth Mooney). Poonam Yadav is comparatively shorter, so she is positioned at short square-leg.

“India has the potential to be the best fielding side in the world”.

Biju, who knows the team as well as anyone, also feels that they will be unstoppable in the final.

“We are going to win this World Cup…100 per cent,” he says. “ Harmanpreet and Mandhana are due for a big scores and these two will get us through in the finals.”