ICC Women's WC: India aims for better "finishing" to avoid exit, NZ aim to shake off rustiness after two washouts

Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 22 (ANI): Ahead of his side's ICC Women's World Cup clash against New Zealand, India head coach Amol Mazumdar admitted that the team has not been able to finish off well during the past three games, which have all been heavy losses to South Africa, Australia and England and also expressed hope that the team will finally get its first century of the tournament in the final two games.
With three losses in a row, India's matches against New Zealand and Bangladesh are must-win clashes or else they will be at mercy of other teams and the net-run-rate for an outside chance for the semifinal spot. Placed at fourth spot, India, who started off strongly against Asian rivals Sri Lanka and Pakistan, will be aiming to avoid a SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) team whitewash.
India lost all these matches from winning positions, like having SA down at 142/6 while defending 252, posting their biggest WC total of 330 runs against Australia and fumbling a 289-run chase to lose by four runs against England, even when the run-rate and wicket count were well under control heading into the final 10 overs. India has not been able to finish game well, be it while bowling or batting.
Speaking ahead of the match, Mazumdar said, "Yes, finishes were a problem. We accept that we were not able to finish it. We have had a very nice discussion about it with the team, and hopefully, going forward, we can finish the job and finish the games off. We always reiterate within the team the importance of starting well, but it is even important to finish better. So, I think we've had that discussion, and hopefully going forward we will."
So far, India has had six batters crossing the fifty-run mark and Richa Ghosh registering the team's highest score of 94 runs, but the team has not been able to hit hundreds. Even against England, Smriti Mandhana (88) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (70) fumbled centuries during their run-chase of 289, which cost the team a win as their two most experienced batters could not carry on and finish.
"We are well aware that a three-figure mark has not come in this World Cup. But if you look at the past year-and-a-half, the 18 months that have passed before the World Cup, we've definitely had a lot more hundreds that we have seen before. I do not think there is a lot of load on anyone. But we have had honest discussions about it. And the players also have been honest that, 'Yes, instead of a fifty, we could have converted that into a hundred'. They are aware of it. And I am hopeful that it will come in the next couple of games," he added.
For White Ferns, the key problem is rustiness. Since their last win against Bangladesh on October 10, NZ's next two matches were rained out in Colombo against SL and Pakistan, and they did not get enough game time for almost two weeks. With just a win, two losses and two washouts, they face a threat to their campaign.
NZ skipper Sophie Devine said about the possibility of further rain, "I am not surprised, to be honest. I expect there to be rain everywhere we go at the moment," she said, shrugging. "But you cannot control the weather. We'll deal with it if it comes. There's no point worrying about it until it actually falls down and the umpires call you off, we are just focused on what we want to do," she added.
Devine is also counting on the experience of Amelia Kerr, their star all-rounder, in India for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Women's Premier League (WPL) under Harmanpreet Kaur's captaincy and backed her to give a fine performance.
"Not just tomorrow, but everyone expects Melie to perform and to give to this group," Devine said. "She said she played a lot with Harman [Harmanpreet Kaur], she is obviously played with the Mumbai Indians here. Hopefully, she has got a few fans in the crowd as well that will be cheering for New Zealand and her. Melie knows some of those Indian players really well. They also know Melie well. I think the Indians probably have enough pressure on them coming from the rest of your country to try and perform and get through to a semi-final, which I know is the expectation for them," she concluded.
Squads:

New Zealand Women Squad: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine(c), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze(w), Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Bree Illing, Eden Carson, Lea Tahuhu, Hannah Rowe, Polly Inglis, Bella James

India Women Squad: Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh(w), Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Uma Chetry. (ANI)