"Once again India lacked partnerships" - Anjum Chopra rues poor batting after series defeat against Australia

Anjum Chopra rued a lack of partnerships as India Women succumbed to a 1-4 defeat against Australia Women in the recently concluded five-match T20I series. The Women in Blue lost the final game by 54 runs, failing to chase down 197 at the Brabourne Stadium on Tuesday, December 20.

Apart from all-rounder Deepti Sharma (53), other batters failed to make any significant contributions. Harleen Deol (24) and Shafali Verma (13) got starts but failed to convert it into a big knock.

Speaking on her YouTube video, Anjum reckoned that the hosts struggled due to the inconsistency shown by the openers. She also added that India lack players who have the ability to carry the batting in case the top order fails. The former India Women's batter said:

"Shafali Verma gets a few opportunities during her innings and she makes it count. However, she failed to score runs this time around. If the openers don't give you good starts, the pressure will automatically come to the middle order and you are already playing one batter short.

"Harleen Deol played a couple of shots but once again India lacked partnerships. Who is the player who will carry India's batting when the top order fails to score runs?"

Richa Ghosh, who has been India's star player in the series, also perished cheaply, scoring 10 off nine balls. The tailenders also failed to make any contributions at all, with the last four batters accumulating just seven runs together.

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"Didn't notice the field change" - Anjum Chopra on Smriti Mandhana's dismissal

Smriti Mandhana, who has been a mainstay of Indian batting, was dismissed for only four runs. The southpaw clipped one of the pads straight into the hands of the fielder.

Anjum mentioned that Mandhana failed to notice the field change and fell prey to the plan. She explained:

"When Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma came out to bat, it looked like they are India's most capable batters in the powerplay. You get 120 balls to play your shots, including the powerplay, where they have already proved themselves. However, they struggled once again due to inconsistency.

"Mandhana, especially after hitting a boundary on the first ball, didn't notice the field change or it went out of her mind that there was a short square leg in place and she hit straight into the hands of that fielder," Anjum continued. "It was an excellent plan executed by Australians to get Mandhana out and she fell prey to it."

India will next travel to South Africa for a T20I tri-series, including the West Indies, before the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in February.

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