Indian all-rounder, Harmanpreet Kaur, has said the lower order of the team needs to bat a lot better, especially when the top orders are removed.

While lauding the performance of bowlers, he said it is time for the batters to bring on their A-game.

The Indian women’s cricket will as part of its preparation for the Twenty20 World Cup that will be held in Australia on February 21 take on England Women in a crucial league match of the T20 tri-series today.

In their last game, India slumped in the mid-innings, leading a four-wicket loss against hosts Australia after beating England by five wickets in the tournament opener last week.

The India batters have not been at their best except opener Smriti Mandhana (35) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (28). Lack of application on a pitch that led to extra bounce at Canberra made India lose their last six wickets for 21 runs and conceded the match with seven balls to spare.

Shafali Verma, who has been hailed as the next big thing in women’s cricket, couldn’t make it beyond three balls while Jemimah Rodrigues had just paltry one-off 11 balls. Their application left their team at 16 for two in three overs.

Although, Experienced Mandhana and Harmanpreet steadied the sheep a little when they combined a 40-run stand before the captain was removed, leading to the team’s collapse.

From the look of things, the bowlers had already done the business by stretching the game till the penultimate over, but they lacked enough runs on the board.

The game against Egland is a crucial preparatory event ahead of the T20 World Cup. The match is expected to be intriguing with all the three teams on 2 points from as many games after one win and one defeat each.

So, the job is now in the hands of the Indian batters, especially in the middle and lower order. They will need to produce a much-improved show against England to brighten their chances of reaching the final.

Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed