India women seek ODI redemption

Bengaluru: India’s women cricketers will be keen to get back to their winning ways in One-dayers when they square off against South Africa in the first ODI at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday. In the 50-over format, India suffered a 0-3 series loss to Australia (Dec-Jan) while managing a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh (July 2023).But the three-match series provides Harmanpreet Kaur and co an opportunity to showcase their dominant status, especially with the ODI World Cup scheduled next year.Their batters, including Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet, Shafali Verma will be keen to make the most of the shorter boundaries at the venue, which is known for its batting surface. Their batting has been strengthened further with the return of Jemimah Rodrigues, who missed the Bangladesh T20I series in April-May due to a back injury.“Jemi (Jemimah) is fit and fine, she is experienced and has done well for so many years. I think it's a balanced batting side and hopefully we will make a balanced batting order and whatever we are expecting as a team, we will do well,” said Harmanpreet, who is also looking at the ODI series as valuable game time with the T20 World Cup scheduled in October. “We take this as an opportunity to go to T20...ODI is something where as a player you have more time to assess yourself and even the conditions. It's good for us that we are getting more match games and expressing ourselves,” the skipper added.India also have a solid bowling line-up, including Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh Thakur and others. The bowlers have bailed the team out of trouble in the past and will be keen to prove their credentials once again. As for the visitors, skipper Laura Wolvaardt, who comes into the series with back-to-back unbeaten hundreds against Sri Lanka in April, will hold the key. All-rounder Marizanne Kapp and Nadine de Klerk will have to be at their best too. Wolvaardt sought consistency from her players. “Obviously we're confident. We've done a lot of preparation and hard work coming into this. We need to back the work that we’ve done and hope that it’s enough. It’s no secret that India are a really good side at the moment. But I do believe that we have a very talented side and hopefully we’re able to find that consistency,” the skipper pointed out.“I think India is quite a daunting place to come to if you're a fresh player in the side with big crowds, big media attention, and it might be a lot more than what we used to back at home. So yeah, I'm just sort of trying to prepare the group mentally for what to expect,” Wolvaardt added.Live, Sports 18, 1.30pm