It seemed as if the Indian coaching staff had a magic wand in their hand. There was a remarkable improvement in batting, bowling and fielding as the Indian women entered the fray with determination and purpose against Sri Lanka on Wednesday evening. Their target was to register a big win and they achieved it with aplomb. The team that was so listless in the first two games went on to display the type of performance that has raised their hopes of making it to the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 World Cup. Sri Lanka were no pushovers, but they were overwhelmed by the superb all-round performance by the Indian team. They were left stunned as they didn’t expect India to come so hard at them.

Not an easy path

However, by no stretch of imagination can it be presumed that India’s path to the semi-finals be considered easy. There are many permutations and possibilities in Group A, and the team management will need to keep an eye on the other matches to plan their strategy for the last league match against Australia on Sunday. As luck would have it, India have three days to rest, allowing ample time to recuperate and also draw out a workable plan going into the must-win final league.