India’s pitching woes continued in the crucial Women’s World T20 clash against Bangladesh on Thursday, with the team taking four catches inside the powerplay.Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana won the toss and elected to bat. India, coming into the match after losing to South Africa, made two changes, by introducing Radha Yadav and Renuka Thakur for Prema Yadhav and Arundhati Reddy. Bangladesh retained the same line-up that defeated Pakistan in their previous match.
With India, South Africa and Bangladesh tied on four points after three matches, separated only by net run rate, the contest carried a lot of weight in the race for the semi-finals. Australia, meanwhile, top Group 1 with four wins from four games.The first reprieve came in the third over when Juairiya Ferdous headed Shree Charani. The ball flew towards short fine leg and hung in the air long enough for Yastika Bhatia to run over short fine leg and take a dive. She got her finger in it but was unable to complete the catch.India then missed another chance in the next over. Juairiya pulled a short ball from Renuka Singh straight towards deep mid off, where Radha Yadav was stationed. The opportunity came at a comfortable height and Radha grabbed it with both hands but the ball slipped away. For a fielder of Radha’s stature, it was an unusual miss and came after the two catches she dropped off Marizanna Kapp during India’s loss to South Africa.The failures did not stop there. In the fifth over, Sobhana Mostary hit the ball sharply to Shree Charani and bowled the ball towards cover. Nandani Sharma moved quickly to the left and jumped, getting both hands on the ball, but was unable to complete the catch.Nandani was again in action a ball later. Juairiya tried to swing and the top edge flew towards short third. Nandani quickly covered the ground and dived, but the ball didn’t stick, giving Bangladesh another life.The sequence left India frustrated as four chances fell in the space of 11 deliveries. Missed opportunities helped Bangladesh recover from the early pressure to end the powerplay at 40/1 after six overs.The decline in catches also continued a worrying trend for India. Against South Africa in their previous match, Radha missed two chances offered by Marizanne Kapp, who went on to score an unbeaten 81 to play a key role in the six-wicket victory.
