Women's T20 World Cup 2024 pitches not suiting Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana: Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar opined that the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 pitches are not suiting the stroke players in the Indian team. The ninth edition of the global event is being held in the UAE. India have played both their games in the league so far at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai and the tracks have not been conducive for batters who like to score freely.

India were bowled out for 102 in their opening encounter against New Zealand leading to Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. losing by 58 runs. In their following game against arch-rivals Pakistan, India huffed and puffed their way to a below-par 108-run target, eventually winning with six wickets and seven deliveries to spare.

Also Check: Sanjay Manjrekar receives backlash on Twitter after his 'don’t pay much attention to North Indian players' statement on air

Former India cricketer, Manjrekar, feels that the fans will not be happy with how the Women in Blue batting line-up has performed in the 10-team competition so far.

"The batting has been slightly disappointing. I feel the fans will be slightly disappointed with the way they have batted. The batting was very bad against New Zealand. The problem is that the pitch in Dubai does not suit Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana," Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.

"Mithali Raj mentioned in the pitch report that it will have spongy bounce, so the ball comes slightly slower. That's not an ideal surface for Shafali Verma and Mandhana because they want pace and score through boundaries. Shafali Verma scored a few runs but she shouldn't think only about fours and sixes in the first five or six overs. This applies to Smriti Mandhana as well," Manjrekar further added.

How can India qualify for the semi-finals?

India's heavy defeat against New Zealand has made things very difficult for them. They will now have to register comprehensive wins to keep their hopes of a semi-final berth alive. India will now face Women's Asia Cup 2024 champions Sri Lanka in Dubai on Wednesday, October 9.

Also Check: Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Match 12, IND-W vs SL-W Match Preview: Head to Head records, pitch report and more

India will finally end their campaign in the group stage by clashing with defending champions Australia on Sunday, October 13, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah. Unfortunately, even if India wins these two games, they will still be relying on other results going their way. New Zealand and Australia have started their campaigns on a winning note. Both have two points from one match each. Meanwhile, Pakistan and India are placed at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. They have earned two points from two games each. Sri Lanka are yet to get off the mark in the group.