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Ahead of the one-off Test against Australia, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said that workload management of players who starred in Women in Blue's historic 347-run win over England recently was a key focus point while preparing for the Aussie challenge.
Indian women's team will kickstart its multi-format home series against Australia also consisting of three ODIs and T20Is each with a Test match at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. In their previous Test just days back, India had handed over England a 347-run defeat, the highest-ever victory margin in Tests. A clinical display from their bowlers and batters formed the backbone of this spectacular win. While India women have made just a few appearances at the Test level in recent years, the four-day fixture against Australia in less than a week after the England encounter will be rare back-to-back big Tests for them. Speaking to reporters ahead of the one-off Test against Australia, India captain Harmanpreet looked at balancing the workloads and fitness as an important task for her team. The skipper also admitted that the excitement of playing two back-to-back Tests against top nations is also helping the Indian team in its recovery from tiredness, wear and tear their bodies underwent during the England Test. "When you are playing back-to-back Test games, the most important thing for you is recovery," the skipper said as quoted by ICC. "How good are you feeling, how fresh are you feeling, because for three days you have done back-to-back bowling and batting. If I talk about Deepti [Sharma], and Pooja [Vastrakar], these players did not get any rest [during the England Test]. We tried to take care of their loads, to train them as per what is necessary for their game." "And for those who did not have a heavy workload, we tried to push them in the nets. To make them feel more confident. And we talked quite a bit about it. The more we feel fresh, feel okay mentally and physically, it would be better for us. An important thing for us right now is excitement. Because we hardly get Test games. And that excitement is helping in our recovery," she concluded. Harmanpreet was satisfied with her side's preparations ahead of the Test and pointed out that the approach of the team will stay the same as their match with England. "Our approach for this game would be the same as our last match: to go for the win," Harmanpreet said. "To continue that approach, if you are batting, it does not mean that you are just staying there. At the same time, you have to get those crucial runs for the team as well. Once you start attacking the bowler in a Test, and if your defence is solid, you can play a good mind game with them," she added. The all-rounder revealed that the team was banking on tactical preparation. "After a discussion with our coach, we focussed on the last inning we played and discussed what is the best thing that we can do. That is what yesterday's session was about. Today's session was more about how we would start the game," said Harmanpreet. "Now, we are preparing as per match situations, and how you can give your best for the team in those situations," she added. Harmanpreet added that despite the absence of Meg Lanning, who recently retired from the game, India is not taking the Australia challenge lightly. "They have quite a balanced side. Everyone in their team is quite experienced in all the formats. We cannot take them lightly [in Lanning's absence]. They have quite a balanced side, they have good batters, good spinners, and fielding as we know is among the best right now," said Harmanpreet. "Australia are a side with many all-rounders, and a number of them perform with both bat and ball. They are always contributing. They are not dependant on one person to contribute [towards a win]," concluded the skipper. (ANI)
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