India head coach Amol Muzumdar admitted that the team needs to rethink its approach in the shortest format of cricket after their disappointing Women’s T20 World Cup campaign that ended with a second successive group-stage exit.Needing a win against six-time champions Australia to qualify for the semifinals, India failed to defend 170 and lost by six wickets on Sunday.“We really have to rethink our strategy or our T20 game. We really need to put our heads around what combination we are going to play,” Muzumdar told reporters after the defeat.India fell short in all three departmentsThe coach said India fell short in all three departments during the tournament.“If I have to pinpoint on certain things in the entire tournament, I think we really need to think about our bowling and our fielding. We also need to be a little aggressive with the bat, and we could have maybe 15-20 runs as cushion (against Australia),” he said.Muzumdar felt India’s total of 170 was competitive but admitted Australia were the better side on the day.“I thought it was a good score, a par score on this pitch. We even got the momentum towards the end of that innings, and I think we carried it on the field as well. It’s just that I think at the end of the day, Australia were a better side than us.”India’s batting never really found its rhythm throughout the tournament. While the top order chipped in regularly, the middle order repeatedly failed to build on good starts, losing wickets in clusters and allowing the opposition to regain control.The team’s inability to settle on a consistent pace attack also hurt its campaign. India tried different seam-bowling combinations across the five group matches, with Nandani Sharma and Kranti Gaud playing three games each, while Renuka Singh and Arundhati Reddy featured in two matches apiece.However, Muzumdar urged patience with the relatively inexperienced bowling attack.“If you look at our bowling attack, it’s been very inexperienced as far as international cricket is concerned. So I’ve said this before in the previous press conference that give us 18 months and this attack will be a different one.”Shreyanka Patil‘s absence hurt IndiaThe coach also felt the absence of off-spinner Shreyanka Patil, who was ruled out midway through the tournament with an ankle injury, was a major setback.“And also, it didn’t help Shreyanka not being there. Shreyanka was probably one of our strikers. So it didn’t help her missing out on half of the tournament. We really missed her in this game today.”Fielding was another area where India struggled. The team dropped several catches, giving Australia crucial chances that eventually proved costly.India’s overall World Cup campaign fell short of expectations. Although the team registered comfortable wins over Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands, defeats to fellow semifinal contenders South Africa and Australia exposed several weaknesses.India began their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign on a strong note, defeating Pakistan and the Netherlands to strengthen their semifinal hopes. However, a loss to South Africa dealt a blow to their momentum. Although they recovered with a victory over Bangladesh, their campaign was ultimately brought to an end by six-time champions Australia.
