All-rounder Sneh Rana said the Indian team has shown tremendous character in sticking together through a challenging Women’s World Cup campaign and is determined to put up a strong fight against seven-time champions Australia on Sunday.India head into the clash after a narrow three-wicket loss to South Africa on Thursday. “That’s the beauty of this team, when things don’t go your way, it really tests your character. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but what matters is bouncing back together,” Rana said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.”We went back, studied the result (vs SA) and regrouped. It’s all about planning how we can improve and how to take the positives from it. Now, we look forward to the next game,” she added. Rana acknowledged the strength of the Australian side, but was confident about her side’s ability to give them a run for their money.
“They (Australia) are definitely the strongest competitor. But we are also going with a positive mindset. We have played against them in the past and defeated them. “So, the confidence is very high. We have been planning very well. Everyone is clear in their minds about their plan,” she said.Rana was aware that the Indian top-order batters are yet to deliver in this tournament, but expressed confidence in their ability to turn things around. “I don’t think it is a big concern because our batters have tackled everything well in the past. Ups and downs are part and parcel of the game. We have some of the best batters in the world and it is just a matter of time they come back,” she said.Rana said the Indian batters are working hard on several aspects of their game such as strike-rotation. “Everyone knows where they are lagging and where they are not. So, everyone is training individually and specially to address those areas.”If we talk about the strike-rate, it has been going on for some time. I think everyone knows that personally. And, as a team, we talk about that, and we are working towards that,” she said. Rana herself has been part of a couple of late-order rescue acts with the bat in this tournament. She added 88 runs for the seventh wicket with Richa Ghosh, helping India post 251 from the depth of 102 for six against South Africa.Rana said she has been working on her batting in the last few months. “Personally, I have been working on my batting for some time because I can be asked to tackle a situation with the bat at some time. So, I always prepare for that cameo. I have worked a lot on my hard-hitting skills in the past few months,” she said.The 31-year-old off-spinner did not divulge the team’s thoughts on fielding a sixth bowling option against Australia, but mentioned that the bowlers have been doing well so far in the ICC showpiece. “I think that is clearly a call of the management. We already have very good bowlers. Even Pratika (Rawal) and Harmanpreet (Kaur) can also bowl. We know how to tackle all these situations. But I am very happy with our bowlers.”They have dragged the match till the last over against SA, which showed that they have adapted to the situation. Yes, in the last five overs, we could have given a much better performance (vs SA). But no worries, we are looking forward to the next game,” she added.(With PTI inputs)
