The Indian women’s cricket team ramped up preparations for the crucial 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup clash against England, set for Sunday, with a high-intensity fielding session at the Holkar Stadium.
After back-to-back defeats to South Africa and reigning champions Australia in Visakhapatnam, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led squad focused on tightening their fielding ahead of the high-stakes encounter in Indore, where they aim to bounce back.
“The objective of today’s fielding session was to get used to the conditions first and fielding under pressure. We covered four areas in this—high catching, ground fielding, direct hits, and fielding under pressure,” said fielding coach Munish Bali in a video posted on the BCCI social media accounts on Thursday.
Bali also explained an interesting drill designed to test execution under pressure. “If it is a direct hit, you get two points. If it goes inside the net, you get three points. So, the total is 20 points you have to score.
“But where is the pressure in this? If you have scored 18 points but make a mistake on the 19th point, you go back to zero. The amount of pressure we put here in our sessions will automatically reflect during matches.”
He elaborated further: “When we do small drills, we give them targets—for example, in direct hits, if you hit the ball, you get four points; if you miss a catch, it is minus three. We are trying to create an atmosphere where we can put pressure on them, and that is helping us a lot.”
Currently, hosts India occupy fourth place in the points table with four points, while the Nat Sciver-Brunt-led England comfortably sits on top with seven points. India must win their remaining league games against England, New Zealand, and Bangladesh to stay in contention for the semi-finals.
–IANS
