New Delhi, Oct 27 (NationPress) As India gears up for the crucial 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final against Australia, former captain Mithali Raj has raised a pivotal question: who will partner Smriti Mandhana at the top of the order if Pratika Rawal is unable to participate in the match scheduled for October 30 at DY Patil Stadium?

Prior to India’s final league clash with Bangladesh, which was abandoned due to rain, concerns loomed over Pratika’s fitness after she suffered a knee and ankle injury while fielding, leading to her absence from the second innings.

"The pressing question is who will open with Smriti if Pratika isn’t fit for the 30th. One possibility is moving Harleen up from number three, as she has experience facing the new ball early on. Alternatively, Uma Chetry could step in, but her inclusion may hinge on Richa Ghosh returning as the wicketkeeper, which could see Uma miss out.

"This could have been a fantastic chance for Harleen to establish a partnership with Smriti, considering Pratika’s potential unavailability. If Pratika is fit, they can maintain their existing batting order. However, I found the decision to have Amanjot open somewhat perplexing. While she needed time in the middle, it might have been wiser to slot her in at number three instead of opening," Mithali expressed during an interview on JioStar.

The injury occurred during the 21st over of Bangladesh’s innings when Pratika twisted her ankle while attempting to prevent a boundary at cow corner. Although a stretcher was summoned, she managed to leave the field with support from the physio.

In Pratika’s absence, Amanjot was elevated to open with Smriti, contributing to a score of 57/0 before rain interrupted play, resulting in a shared outcome between India and Bangladesh.

Veda Krishnamurthy, a former Indian batter, emphasized the need for clear and prompt decisions from the team management regarding the opening position alongside Smriti if Pratika is unfit for the critical match. Australia had previously triumphed over India by three wickets in their group stage encounter in Visakhapatnam.

"The semi-final is always a challenging scenario. It’s the initial knockout round, and nerves are natural as teams strive for perfection. Against Australia, even minor slip-ups can be costly as they exploit every opportunity," she warned.

"For India, it’s vital to begin with the right combination and maintain pressure on Australia to induce errors, as they rarely make mistakes," she added.

Given the uncertainty surrounding Pratika’s condition and the lack of a backup opener, rapid decision-making is crucial. "You can’t expect a makeshift opener to deliver miracles in a knockout match against the defending champions," Veda cautioned.

Currently, India lacks a designated reserve opening batter in their main squad. While Tejal Hasabnis is available in the reserves, she predominantly bats in the middle order. An option could be Shafali Verma, who has been performing well in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, but this hinges on Pratika’s scan results.

"The strategy behind resting players is to ensure that in matches like these, particularly against lower-ranked teams like Bangladesh, the outcome doesn’t significantly affect your standing, yet a dominant performance is still expected, which India achieved. Now, the focus shifts to Pratika’s fitness," she explained.

"Against New Zealand, Amanjot was absent, and I believe Amanjot should return in place of Harleen. However, the key question remains: what is Pratika’s injury status? Can India call up a replacement if necessary? As it stands, there isn’t a specialist batter available in the dugout," Veda noted.

"The players who didn’t play included Arundhati, Kranti Goud, Sneh Rana, and Richa Ghosh; while Richa can step in as wicketkeeper, there’s still a lack of spare batters. Depending on Pratika’s scan outcomes, India might need to consider bringing in an opener from outside the squad for the semi-final against Australia. You can’t head into a knockout game with a makeshift opener," she continued.

She concluded by stating that India must opt for six bowling options against Australia, highlighting the drawbacks of relying on five bowlers. “To be honest, my preference is for India to utilize six bowling options. This has always been my position. You can’t approach a semi-final against Australia on a pitch like this with only five bowlers. Given the weather conditions, rain, dew, and the pitch not changing much, if India bowls first, the objective should be to restrict Australia to around 300–320. Anything beyond that puts tremendous pressure on a knockout chase.

“And if we’re defending, it’s unrealistic to expect to defend anything under 350 with just five bowlers. So yes, while batting is India’s strength, we must avoid piling pressure on the batters. As long as six bowling options are available, I’m confident in this lineup,” she concluded.