Johannesburg, April 21 (IANS) India Women’s bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi admitted that execution, not planning, cost the team in the first two T20Is against South Africa Women’s cricket team, but backed the side to “bounce back stronger” in the must-win third game.

South Africa leads the series 2-0, having won the first two games by six and eight wickets. Another victory would secure the series for them, forcing India to play for pride in the remaining matches. The hosts have been in full control, executing their game plans well with both bat and ball, while exposing India’s inconsistency, especially in the middle order.

In the first T20I, India showed some fight, coming close to winning, thanks mostly to an unbeaten 47 from captain Harmanpreet Kaur. However, Laura Wolvaardt (51) and Annerie Dercksen (44*) helped South Africa secure the win in the final over. The second game was much less competitive, with India only managing 147 runs despite a quick 57 from Shafali Verma. The total was not enough, as the hosts chased it down comfortably, thanks to half-centuries from Wolvaardt (54) and Sune Luus (57), along with strong bowling performances from Chloe Tryon and Tumi Sekhukhune.

“First of all, I mean, in Durban, we were trying. We tried our plans; we were actually working on it. We couldn’t execute the plans as we would have wanted to. We had the plans ready. But somehow it just didn’t get executed the way we wanted it to be. Going ahead, we have already identified the grey areas, and we have ironed them out.”

On balancing experimentation and results before the T20 World Cup, “I mean, girls are aware about it, and they are practising it, I mean, before coming into the series, also, we had practised those plans, but somehow we couldn’t execute them in the two games that we had. But obviously, girls are motivated enough, and they are experienced enough to understand where they are missing out, and they’ll come back stronger.

On batting collapses happening twice after Shafali fell. “See, after the two games, we sat together. Actually, we have analysed what went wrong, and we started pretty well. I mean, if you see both the games in 12 overs or so, we were at 100, and then after that, we couldn’t finish the way we wanted them to, but that always happens in cricket. I mean, you plan something, sometimes it gets executed, sometimes it doesn’t get executed, but the awareness is there, the understanding is there, and I’m sure the girls are going to bounce back stronger.”

Salvi reserved special praise for young talent Gautam and said, “Kashvee is an exciting talent. She is a youngster. She has done really well in the kind of opportunities she has had before coming into the series. The game in Durban that she got, I thought, I mean, the wicket suited her. The kind of conditions were there, it suited her, but I think she didn’t perform the way she would have wanted on that day to perform. But I am sure she is working on the nets, she is working and having discussions with the coaches and the senior players as well. It’s still early days for her in the international circuit, and obviously, as a youngster, she is trying to grab as many things as she can, and I am sure she will execute her plans in the coming games.”

On Deepti Sharma’s bowling form & how she’s planning to get back into her best self. “See, Deepti is a champion player. We all know that. I mean, one or two games or three games doesn’t justify the kind of talent she is and the kind of performance she has done over the years. We all know that she has been a champion player, a champion bowler, a champion batter, and a champion all-rounder throughout her career. So, this is the stage where she is probably not at her best as of now. But going into the drawing board, she is working hard in the camp, she is working hard on her fitness, and she is also working hard on her bowling.

“In the nets, if you see, she is always there taking up those challenges, where she is also bowling against the batter, she is also doing those kinds of target bowling practice, and she is, I mean, discussing all her game plans and what she wants to use during the games. It’s only a matter of a few instances where, probably, she just strikes, and she comes back shining.”

On fast bowling group performances, Salvi said, “I think runs and everything is one part, but when we play, we get into a game, whatever our team scores, our bowling unit’s target is to stop the opposition within whatever our batters have scored. So, I think, as far as satisfaction is concerned, no, I am not satisfied. But as long as the preparation is concerned, I am satisfied on that front. “I am satisfied with the way those girls are coming up into the preparation point, or the discussion point, or the planning point. But you know how it is, the game of cricket is a game of uncertainties at times. So, you come up prepared with a plan, and it all boils down to the execution and the pressure.

“So, at times, the execution happens in a very positive way. At times, it doesn’t happen positively. But we, as a coaching staff, as a leadership group, we generally see the kind of effort that they are putting into the preparations and then see the kind of attitude that they are having and obviously, performances are also analysed, assessed and we identify the grey areas and we keep working into the nets whenever we get an opportunity and iron out those grey areas and make them ready for the main games.”

–IANS

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