Despite getting their campaign back on track with a six-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in their previous encounter, the Indian women’s team will have to adapt an aggressive approach to bolster their net run rate when they take on bottom-placed Sri Lanka in their third and penultimate Group A match of the T20 Women’s World Cup in Dubai on Wednesday.

The Indian women’s team currently has the second-worst net run rate (NRR) of -1.217 in Group A and must win their remaining two matches against Sri Lanka and Australia by a huge margin to finish among the top two teams in the group.

India find themselves on a sticky wicket as their fortunes will also bank on the outcome of Tuesday’s Trans-Tasman rivalry between Group A toppers – New Zealand and Australia. The White Ferns currently lead the Group A standings with a NRR of 2.900 while defending champions Australia stand second with NRR of 1.908. Pakistan women are sandwiched at the third spot with a NRR of 0.555.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led outfit had a mixed start to their campaign in the showpiece event, having lost to New Zealand by 58 runs in their tournament-opener and then scampering home in 18.5 overs against Pakistan while chasing a modest 105.

As such, the Indian team would be expecting their batters to fire in unison, and step up the gas during chases. For that, India will be desperately hoping for a strong opening from the explosive pair of Shafali Verma and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana. Shafali scored just 2 and 32 in the first two games while Mandhana also faired poorly managing 12 and 7 runs. A decent start from the two will ease the pressure off the middle order.

To make matters worse, skipper Harmanpreet, who scored 15 and 29 retired hurt, is a doubtful starter against Sri Lanka after suffering a neck injury while batting against Pakistan. In the scenario, the in-form Dayalan Hemalatha might be the likely inclusion. The onus will also be on the likes of Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh to raise their hands and share the responsibility.

In the bowling department, medium pacer Arundhati Reddy, who came up with an impressive performance against Pakistan, returning with figures of 3/19, would look for more support from fellow pacers Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar, who didn’t play the previous game because of an injury.

India’s success will also rely on how soon their lead spinner Deepti Sharma finds her rhythm back. In the first couple of games, off-spinner Shreyanka Patil and leg-spinner Asha Shobhana have done a decent job, picking up a few wickets. A big win against Sri Lanka will keep them in good stead ahead of their final Group A game against Australia on October 13.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka might have lost both their opening matches, but the islanders aren’t any pushovers. The match against the Islanders also gives India another chance at avenging the defeat in the Asia Cup final in August.

India opener Shafali admitted that Sri Lanka are no longer only dependent on their skipper Chamarai Athapaththu. “There was a time when Chamari was the one scoring most of the runs and taking wickets, but in the Asia Cup, her entire team performed well. They’ve improved a lot, which is why they won the cup,” Shafali has said.

The Sri Lankans were off to a forgettable start in the tournament, having suffered losses to Pakistan and Australia, and thus can be expected to come hard at India for a desperate final push to the knockouts. With a NRR of -1.667, the Islanders’ chances look bleak but one can’t totally rule them out as yet.

Teams:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan

Sri Lanka: Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hasini Perera, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Nilakshika Silva, Chamari Athapaththu (c), Kavisha Dilhari, Ama Kanchana, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Shashini Gimhani, Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Sachini Nisansala, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoka Ranaweera.