Richa Ghosh's rekindled mojo shifts the mood

There are some defeats that athletes tend to absorb, while others begin to ask questions of them. It was admittedly the latter for Harmanpreet & Co. in the buildup to the 10th edition of the women's T20 World Cup. A string of losses to South Africa and England had placed them there.

"When things are always going well, sometimes you don't know which areas you need to improve on as a team, but when you lose, you learn a lot," the Indian skipper said, fronting the press a day ahead of India's opening game of the campaign.

"That's what the last month and a half has shown: (there are a) lot of things, lots of scope for improvement," she added. "That's what we have been discussing in team meetings and trying to apply ourselves on the field – how we can do better in that area, how to improve ourselves and bring that onto the field. Those losses (against England) have given us a lot of learning, and hopefully, we'll use that experience for this tournament."

For all the answers that came their way, and all that didn't through the course of these losses in the build-up to the mega-tournament, there was at least one ray of hope and promise: the 36-ball 68 smashed by Richa Ghosh in the last warm-up game. It was enough for the captain and the coach to claim they had one concern checked off their list and minds.

"We were waiting for Richa to get that confidence back," the Indian skipper admitted on Saturday.

It is a much-needed respite, at least temporarily soothing to the team's larger plans. India's T20 juggernaut since the 2024 World Cup, which promised to stretch till the end of the tournament, has come accompanied by doubts and weaknesses over the past few months, aided by the South Africans and the English. Reasons are plenty, but one among them was the rare lean run endured by Ghosh, India's designated finisher.

Ghosh did have a couple of knocks of note in Johannesburg and Benoni, but failing to find consistent output from her is an unfamiliar problem for India. In her six-year career in T20 internationals, the 22-year-old has never endured a lean phase. She has turned up consistently for the team in victories and defeats; her returns with the bat have often been more consistent than her batting position in the line-up.

Richa Ghosh for India in T20Is

In T20 cricket, roles can tend to be overstated, but that's not the case for Ghosh though. Few in the Indian line-up possess the power, and the method, to disrupt a game as late and as decisively as her.

It is evident that if India are to fancy their chances for their maiden T20 World Cup glory, a lot rests on Ghosh. Apart from being the most destructive death-overs batter in the world, she has the rare ability, among all the Indian middle and lower middle-order batters, to hit past the fences right from the get-go. It not only allows the captain to wield some flexibility in the line-up, but also offers space for a few around the batter to err.

"Before the last game, she had a little bit of a lean phase," Amol Muzumdar, India's head coach, admitted. "But she's a world-class player and a mature cricketer. We always had this talk around in the dressing room – for someone as good and as talented as Richa, it will require a couple of hits out of the ground and it will all come back. It happened in the last game, and I'm glad we are getting into the world cup with Richa having spent quality game time in the last game. No doubt, she does a great job for us at number six – according to the situation we get her into the game."

That reliance on her does not exist in isolation; in this World Cup, it has already been complicated by the absence of a fast-bowling all-rounder in the ranks. While Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam were sidelined due to injuries, the decision to not pick the hard-hitting Pooja Vastrakar has only complicated matters. The biggest compromise has come in the form of depth in the batting. And in limiting the batting depth, the burden on Ghosh has only stretched.

If the team management end up persisting with Yastika Bhatia at No 3, that reliance on contributions from Ghosh down the order is bound to further amplify, with higher risks in that role.

Highest strike rate for India in death overs since Richa Ghosh's T20I debut (min: 100 runs)

Even in all its glory over the past two years – when they beat England in England and Australia in Australia – India have never looked infallible. The weaknesses and loopholes were obvious even when they didn't quite peep out. In some ways, an in-form Ghosh has the ability to mask some of those weaklinks in the line-up. But it's too much of a burden to shoulder.

Harmanpreet admitted the tough job the young batter is taking the load of, but lauded the mindset she has brought into the team. "Whichever batting position she bats in, to be honest, is the toughest position for any batter. Despite that, she has been handling pressure and performing in almost every game. That shows how mentally strong she is."

However, much like the head coach, the Indian skipper has put up an optimistic front, hoping that one good knock in the warm-up game is enough signs that the hard-hitting batter has dusted off the early troubles in English conditions and found rhythm for the big tournament.

"That last innings which she played, against England in the practice game, that definitely gave a lot of confidence," Harmanpreet claimed, sharing the sentiments of Muzumdar. But most importantly, it has given her reasons to be optimistic, the change in Ghosh's preparation.

"For any batter, just one good knock is important to come back to good form, and we have seen that the moment she got those runs she looked like a completely different player in the nets… I think her rough phase is gone; now she is again looking so good in the nets and hopefully she'll carry that into her batting, practice and games."