Jem of a person

India women’s fielding coach Munish Bali says team missed star batter Rodrigues’s energy on field after she left feeling unwell during the six-wicket loss to Australia

India missed two of their key players at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday evening. Firstly, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana “is unwell and hence, was not available for selection for the first India-Australia ODI”, as per the BCCI spokesperson just before play began.

Secondly, the Indian team missed live-wire Jemimah Rodrigues on the field during Australia’s successful run-chase. Rodrigues top-scored for the Mandhana-less Indian team with 82 as India posted a fighting 282-8, battling the heat of Mumbai and suffering from dehydration, vomiting a couple of times and sometimes struggling to be on her feet.

India will be hoping that the two are fit enough to play the second ODI at the same venue on Saturday in an attempt to stay alive in the series as they search for their first-ever bilateral series victory over Australia, this being the ninth rubber.

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Munish Bali

India’s fielding coach Munish Bali said after India’s six-wicket loss to Australia: “She [Rodrigues] is a gem of a person. She keeps the team together. We missed her on the field. Her energy rubs onto others, she encourages others constantly. Our team atmosphere while fielding is different when she is around.”

Despite the conditions, the 25-year-old Bandra girl scored her fifth ODI fifty with the message from the Indian team dug out, “to bat as long as you can”.

Bali added that Australia batted very well and said that the Indian team were playing an ODI after a long time. In fact, India played an ODI series in Bangladesh in July this year, sharing the trophy after winning one, losing another and tying the third.

“Australia batted very well, chased very well, took singles also very well. We are playing ODIs after a long time. I think we can do better in fielding and bowling,” he said.

Meanwhile, Australia opener Phoebe Litchfield, who won her third player of the match award in her 12-match ODI career so far since her debut in January this year. However, she had a forgettable outing in the first innings of the one-off Test, run out without facing a ball, she fell reverse sweeping in the second innings for 18, bowled by Sneh Rana.

She employed the sweep stroke—reverse and conventional—against the Indians en route a match-winning 78 on Thursday. The 20-year-old left-hander from New South Wales said: “The reverse sweep is one of my get-out-of-jail shots. If I need to score a four or release pressure, I go to that shot if there is some space. A Test match was not the greatest scenario to bring the reverse sweep and I definitely learnt from that.”

Ironically, she fell to the conventional sweep, again to Rana, but after putting Australia on the victory path. Litchfield is keen to use the experience of playing in India and be ready when the Women’s World Cup is held in India in 2025. “Any experience you get on these pitches is so good for our cricket. With the World Cup here in 2025, any time in the middle is good,” she said.

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