From hunters to hunted: Harmanpreet Kaur's India stare at steep challenges at T20 World Cup after ODI success

On the eve of a potential blockbuster opening to their tournament against South Africa, Australia’s new captain Sophie Molineux was asked how it feels to come into an ICC event without holding any of the world titles. “We’re not out here to defend anything. We’re not being hunted, I suppose,” she said. For the longest time (and perhaps still), Australia have been the benchmark in the women’s game, the torchbearers and milestone-setters. But the world order has changed. While New Zealand upset the odds in the 2024 edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to be crowned champions, the most recent title went to India just over half a year ago.

Extrapolating from Molineux’s sentiments, Harmanpreet Kaur’s India will begin the tournament in uncharted territory. As the hunted. As perhaps the team everyone wants to beat now… surely, Australia do. That comes with a different sort of pressure. For the longest time, India were looking in from the outside – hoping to end years of heartbreak to reach the promised land finally. But now that they have, do they have what it takes to go one step further and conquer the shortest format too?

A new territory for Women In Blue

They have the potential, of course; they have always had. But their recent form and the group they find themselves in at the World Cup make it a tough ask. When India toured Australia earlier this year and stunned the world No 1 side 2-1 in the T20 leg of the multi-format series, many of the observations centered around how they played with swagger, a confidence earned by getting the monkey off their backs in Navi Mumbai last November.

But since then, they have looked lackluster. After failing to land a punch on Australia in the ODIs and Tests, they were soundly beaten in South Africa 1-4 in a five-match series before England beat them 2-1 in a series that should have been a marker of the team’s preparation for the World Cup. Across those eight matches, worryingly, India’s bowling unit leaked at 8.76 runs per over. They conceded 193 against South Africa after picking up just one wicket. More recently, in Taunton, England chased down 181 with 9 balls to spare. Batters too have clicked only in patches.

India remain reliant on individuals

One thing has become increasingly evident. India still heavily rely on individual brilliance to win matches, especially in T20s. They still crave for Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma to power them to strong starts, and for Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh to do the heavy lifting in the backend.

A little bit worryingly, India also seem to have created some confusion for themselves with the No 3 spot once again, just as they did before the last T20 World Cup. Back then, out of nowhere, they decided to try Harmanpreet Kaur at that role, and lost conviction in that call even before the tournament ended as they were knocked out before the semifinals. Since that tournament, it seemed Jemimah Rodrigues had made that position her own, having batted in 18 out of the 21 T20Is at No 3 before the recent bilateral series against England. But in those three matches, Yastika Bhatia – who has been away from the game for a while now because of injuries – batted at No 3.

On the flip side, India have corrected a couple of errors they made ahead of 2024. Instead of spending long times in camps without competitive cricket before a marquee tournament, they have tested themselves in South Africa, and more importantly, in England. Having reached England well in advance of the tournament, they have given themselves adequate time to get used to the conditions. The schedule is kinder than last time too, when rustiness cost India dearly against New Zealand in the opener before, and that defeat was enough to effectively knock them out.

India need collective effort

India’s most significant challenge, though, is the group they find themselves in. Their Head-to-Head record against Bangladesh and Pakistan in women’s T20Is is 20-3 and 11-3, respectively, while they would expect to prevail against tournament debutants, the Netherlands. But it is the 9-27 record against Australia and recent reversals against South Africa that can cause alarms. With only two of these three powerhouses progressing to the semifinals, India cannot afford to lose against both of those key rivals.

“ODI WC win was only the beginning,” Harmanpreet wrote in her column for ICC. “We want to make winning a habit. While the 2025 World Cup win gave us immense joy, it also gave us responsibility. We know expectations will rise, and that brings pressure, of course, but it is a good kind of pressure. It tells you that you have earned something important, and now you have to recreate it again.”

As we saw in Navi Mumbai, they have gamechangers capable of stepping up under pressure, but success in this tournament would likely depend more on the collective.

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