Wins against England and Australia will boost India's morale ahead of ODI series, says Punam Raut

Mumbai, Dec 27 (IANS) Veteran India batter Punam Raut believes the Test match wins over England and Australia will boost the morale of the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side ahead of the ODI series against the latter starting at the Wankhede Stadium from Thursday.

Though India began their action-packed home season with a 2-1 loss to England in T20Is, they bounced back to have comprehensive back-to-back Test wins over them and Australia as they played the format at home after nine years.

“The win in the two Test matches against England and Australia will boost the team’s morale. There’s been a lot of changes in the team. There’s a new coach, new staff, so obviously there are changes in strategies and mindset. The atmosphere in the team has changed. They are helping each other, they are backing each other and enjoying each other’s performances. These things matter a lot,” said Punam on JioCinema’s daily sports show ‘#AAKASHVANI’.

In the ODI squad, India have made huge changes by bringing in Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque and Titas Sadhu, along with Renuka Singh Thakur and Richa Ghosh coming back into the mix.

“Many spinners like Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma have impressed recently in the Test series. We are moving from red-ball to white-ball cricket. So, the spinners may not get that much turn.”

“But I feel players like Shreyanka Patil, who is doing well, and someone like Mannat Kashyap if given a chance can impress too. I feel we should not focus on big names only and give players who are performing well a chance,” added Punam.

She also feels fielding is an aspect to be worked upon and wants the entire Indian batting line-up to step up with contributions. “I think India’s weak link is fielding. The other thing is batting, because except Smriti Mandhana no other batter has impressed in white-ball cricket.”

“If we are to beat a team like Australia, then it’s important that the top five batters succeed. If we are to beat them in ODIs, it’s important to score about 300 runs because Australia are experienced and enjoy a good ODI record.”

India will be back to playing ODIs against current World Cup holders Australia at home after a long gap, and the three-game series holds huge importance in terms of preparing for the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, where they will be the host nation.

“The Australian team knows how to make comebacks. They have played a lot of cricket in India previously. I remember we won a series against them in 2016 in Australia but they have not given us a chance to win in India. So they are that strong and have a lot of experience,” concluded Punam.