Top-order in focus as Harmanpreet and Co. eye series win in Mirpur

Heading into their third and final womens ODI on Saturday India would expect a better show from its top order when it takes on Bangladesh in MirpurFollowing a disastrous start where the Indian womens team crashed to its firstever defeat to Bangladesh the visitors levelled the series with a commanding 108run win on WednesdayCome Saturday the Indian team would not only aim to secure the threematch series but also address the grey areas and continue learning the nature of pitches given that next years World Cup is scheduled in BangladeshIn the series opener Indias batting unit left a lot to be desired as the visitors were bundled out for 113 But in the second ODI India put up an improved batting display with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues notching halfcenturiesHowever the top orders form continues to be a cause of concernStar opener Smriti Mandhanas struggle from the T20 leg have continued in the 50over format She has managed to score just 47 runs in the two ODIs which is much less than the standards the Indian vicecaptain has set for herselfFellow opener Priya Punia who replaced the bighitting Shafali Verma in the ODI series has failed to impress in her comeback The 26yearold has scores of 10 and 7 while wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia would also like to give a better account of herselfOn the bright side Jemimah was back among runs scoring a careerbest 86 while skipper Harmanpreet has also looked in good nickBut having gotten hurt on her hand it is to be seen if the skipper is fully fitAlso Read Humidity lingers traffic worsens but cricket wins the race A diary of an Indian on tourHarmanpreet was forced to leave the field briefly after getting hit on the left wrist at the nonstrikers end while completing a single during the second ODIShe returned to bat but her stay in the middle lasted eight balls She also did not take the field at the beginning of Bangladeshs inningsThe Indian bowlers on the other hand were right on the mark with leggie Devika Vaidya and parttime spinner Jemimah who had a career best 43 sharing seven wickets between themBangladesh will also hope for a better effort from its batters The hosts lost seven wickets in the space of 14 runsFargana Hoque has been Bangladeshs best batter having scored 74 runs in the two innings while Nigar Sultana is the second best having manages a total of 42 runs across the two gamesSquadsIndia Harmanpreet Kaur c Smriti Mandhana Deepti Sharma Shafali Verma Jemimah Rodrigues Yastika Bhatia wk Harleen Deol Devika Vaidya Uma Chetry wk Amanjot Kaur Priya Punia Pooja Vastrakar Meghna Singh Anjali Sarvani Monica Patel Rashi Kanojiya Anusha Bareddy Sneh RanaBangladesh Nigar Sultana c Nahida Akter Murshida Khatun Fargana Hoque Sobhana Mostary Shorna Akter Ritu Moni Lata Mondal Disha Biswas Marufa Akter Sharmin Akhter Sanjida Akter Rabeya Khan Sultana Khatun Salma Khatun Fahima Khatun Shamima SultanaWith PTI inputs