India Have Eyes On Women's T20 World Cup, But The Soft Hands Need Hard Work
The seven-wicket win in Visakhapatnam masked some of those concerns, thanks largely to a dominant batting display led by Shafali Verma.
India's women are winning games, but the message inside the dressing room is clear: fielding has to catch up with their ambitions. Two matches into the home T20I series against Sri Lanka, the numbers tell an uncomfortable story - four catches went down in the opening game, followed by two more in the second. With the T20 World Cup looming in June, those dropped chances have turned fielding into a priority area rather than a footnote.
The seven-wicket win in Visakhapatnam masked some of those concerns, thanks largely to a dominant batting display led by Shafali Verma. Chasing a modest 129, India never looked in trouble as Shafali and Jemimah Rodrigues stitched together a brisk 50-plus stand. Earlier, a disciplined bowling effort had restricted Sri Lanka to 128 for nine, a total that could have been even smaller with cleaner work in the ring.
Shafali, however, ensured there were no hiccups in the chase. Returning unbeaten on 69 off just 34 balls - her career-best WT20I score at home - the opener set the tempo from ball one. Her innings, laced with 11 fours and a six, featured calculated aggression rather than blind slogging. She added 58 runs off 28 balls with Rodrigues and a further 41 off 24 with Harmanpreet Kaur to shut the door firmly on Sri Lanka.
Yet, even after a near-perfect personal outing, Shafali was quick to turn the spotlight back on fielding. "Areas to improve? Again, fielding," she admitted, underlining that the team is "putting in a lot of effort" and improving "day by day." She pointed to moments of progress too, including the celebration around Vaishnavi's debut wicket, a sign of growing energy and intent on the field.
As India build towards the World T20, the blueprint is evident. The batting firepower is there, the bowling is settling into rhythm - but championships are often decided by the half-chances taken. For the Women in Blue, sharper catching could be the final piece of a title-winning puzzle.
India Women