Legendary Indian women’s cricketer Mithali Raj has downplayed the impact of strike rate in One-day Internationals, and has urged them to “play according to the situation” in the upcoming tournament scheduled to start on March 4.
The 39-year-old had recently been at the receiving end of backlash for her lower strike rate in the last few outings for the Indian women’s team. She has also set expectations for her team, saying that the team must possess the ability to “pull the team out of the hole” if the situation demands.
According to Raj, India have been trying to post totals in excess of 250 and has prepared a game plan to achieve it. To make her point, she referenced Aussie batswoman Beth Mooney’s glorious 125 back in 2021, where she scored at a low rate for most of the innings before throttling towards the end.
When asked about India’s dot-ball percentage in their recent tour to Australia, as questions were raised about their boundary rates, Raj responded by saying,
“I think too much importance isn’t given to strike rate by you all? Because it is always spoken [of] when it comes to batting or putting up big totals.”
“I just wanted to know if you all only follow the strike rates of the India players or the players from the other teams, because if you might give me an opportunity to enlighten you, the Australia series itself, the game that Australia won, the decider, if you’ve seen Beth Mooney, who scored her 50 in 80-odd balls, but she went on to play a match-winning innings for the team.”
She also highlighted the importance on playing according to the situation on the pitch and stressed upon the importance of mentality in modern-day cricket.
“So yes, when we have to score 250-270, we need to have a healthy strike rate, but having said that, we will not only entirely focus on strike rate, it’s important to play an innings to win and build partnerships, and that happens, not because of strike rate but because you apply and play according to the situation on the ground.
Sometimes you have to play fast, but sometimes you have to play to get your team out of the hole too.”
Raj said.
India lost in the finals of both 2005 and 2017 World Cup, and will be looking to find the final piece of the puzzle in New Zealand later this year. Although India lost the series against the Aussies, they made some progress, posting two totals in excess of 250, successfully chasing 265 in the third ODI.
Smriti Mandhana has been India’s most successful batter post the 2017 World Cup, while wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh has proven to be a ferocious finisher.
Yastika Bhatia has also opened up a viable lower-order option, while Raj has moved one position down, slotting down to number four.
“Once you are selected in this team, we look for present and future, what you have done behind. You have to take confidence out of it or you learn out of it and move forward.
As far as Harman is concerned, she just came out of the WBBL as the Player of the Tournament. So, currently she’s in good form and it’s up to her to capitalise those good days into best days in the World Cup.”
said coach Ramesh Powar.
