More misses than hits for India on white-ball tour of Bangladesh

Without Richa Ghosh in the mix, the Bangladesh tour was an opportunity for India to find someone to contribute with the bat in the lower order. However, on slow burners in Dhaka in the T20Is, India's Nos. 5 to 8 averaged a mere 8.75 as India failed to post substantial totals batting first. India tried out Yastika Bhatia, Amanjot Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol and Pooja Vastrakar in these positions in the T20Is, and all of them found it tough to get the scoreboard ticking against the spinners.

The one change India made in the ODIs was to push Yastika to No. 3 and Jemimah Rodrigues to the middle order. While Rodrigues shone in the second game with a career-best 86 - and followed it with an unbeaten 33 in the tied final ODI, Yastika returned scores of 15, 15 and 5 in the three matches. Deol also came good in the third ODI with her second half-century, from No. 4.

India's use of Vastrakar with the bat in the ODI series sent confusing signals. She was pushed to as low as No. 10 in the opening ODI before being left out for the final two games. Even Sneh Rana, picked only for the ODIs, was used above Vastrakar in that game. While Rana can be quite handy with the bat, she is not quite the power-hitter that Vastrakar can be.

In recent times, India have looked up to Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur to drive stiff run-chases, and Deepti Sharma to bail them out - with ball and bat - from tough situations.

While Harmanpreet scored fifties in the first T20I and the second ODI, Deepti picked up 3 for 12 to help skittle Bangladesh for 87 in their 96-run chase in a low-scoring second T20I. Her batting, though left much to be desired, with 20 being her top score of the tour. Mandhana had low returns, managing only one half-century in the entire tour - in the final ODI.

However, debutant Minnu Mani's show in the T20Is should make India happy. While her batting capability was not fully utilised, she picked up five wickets in the three games at 11.60, primarily bowling with the new ball. B Anusha and Rashi Kanojiya, both of whom made their debuts during the tour, failed to make much of an impact.

In helpful conditions, Rana and Devika Vaidya got purchase from the surface with the ball, but their batting needs more work. That put a spanner in India's works as the two had been preferred over Kanojiya and Anusha for their better batting skills.

A mere two years after former head coach Ramesh Powar had called for widening the fast-bowling pool, India seem to have ditched the plan and gone back to their traditional strength - spin.

Though, of course, the conditions did dictate the call to an extent, it has to be pointed out that Marufa Akter, the Bangladesh quick, was the top wicket-taker across sides in the ODIs, with four, one, and two wickets in the three games.

In the absence of the injured Renuka Singh, India had left-armers Anjali Sarvani and Monica Patel, apart from right-arm seamer Meghna Singh and allrounders Vastrakar and Amanjot to choose from.

Only Vastrakar, Meghna and Amanjot got a run in the series. Out of the 128.1 overs India bowled across the six games, only 42 overs were delivered by the seamers. In fact, Harmanpreet used only one over of pace at the death each in the T20I and ODI series - Vastrakar in the opening T20I and Meghna in the last ODI. Shafali Verma and Rodrigues' offspin services were pressed into action on spin-conducive tracks at the Shere Bangla National Stadium at crucial junctures. Once again, it showed the lack of patience India tend to have with their seamers.

Consistency, be it in selection matters - Ghosh and Rajeshwari Gayakwad returning for the Asian Games while Vastrakar being relegated to reserves - or on-field performances, will only help the Harmanpreet-led outfit that, not long ago, was challenging the world's best.