New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS) Veteran leg-spinner Poonam Yadav has said she is sure the Indian team will take a lot of learnings from their heavy 58-run defeat to New Zealand in the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup and make a strong comeback in their clash against Pakistan on Sunday afternoon.

At the Dubai International Stadium on Friday, India were comprehensively outplayed in all departments in their defeat to New Zealand, resulting in their Net Run Rate (NRR) taking a severe hit. With an NRR of -2.99, India needs big victories in their remaining three Group A matches against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Australia to have a chance at entering the semifinal stage.

"The Indian women's team will bounce back because, after a big loss in the first match, as an Indian, you always come back stronger. I believe the team will learn a lot from this first loss and make a strong comeback. The first match doesn't decide anything, but now it's important to maintain a good run rate in the remaining matches.”

“You have to win decisively and come back stronger. Your preparation needs to be solid, and the comeback must be impactful. You have to overcome all obstacles to stay competitive in this tournament," said Poonam on a Star Sports Press Room show episode ahead of the India-Pakistan clash in the tournament.

She also thinks India need to focus a bit more on getting good contributions from their bowling all-rounders. "I feel they should focus more on the bowling all-rounders rather than batting all-rounders because their roles in the team are different. If you compare it to Australia, their all-rounders are more batting-focused, whereas for India, they are bowling all-rounders.”

“A quality all-rounder who can contribute 30-35 runs in critical situations is crucial. The strength of the Indian team has always been in having proper bowlers. If you focus more on quality spinners, you’re likely to concede fewer runs. But if you rely more on batting all-rounders, you can add depth and chase higher totals, like 180 runs."

Poonam, who played 72 T20Is for India, wishes to see Jemimah Rodrigues bat at number three, where the team has captain Harmanpreet Kaur in that position. "I would prefer Jemimah to bat at No. 3 because she can make use of the field when only two fielders are outside the circle.”

“Harmanpreet is better suited for big-hitting, whereas Jemimah can rotate the strike with singles and doubles and take advantage of loose balls and convert it into a 4 or 6. No. 3 is a crucial position, so having Jemimah there and Harmanpreet at No. 4 would be ideal, as you need both a good finisher and someone who can hit big."

She signed off by commenting on the similarities between playing conditions in India and the UAE. "Whenever a team goes to play a match, you have time for preparation. You settle in, adjust to the heat, and understand the wicket conditions. I saw an interview where coach Amol Muzumdar mentioned that the wickets here are similar to those in India.”

“He was saying it won’t be too difficult to play on these wickets because they are quite similar to Indian and UAE pitches. It’s not that challenging. Weather-wise, too, the conditions in India and the UAE are similar, so it’s not a big difference."