Dubai, Oct 5 (IANS) Ahead of India's clash with archrivals Pakistan in a crucial Group A game of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, the team's bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi believes the side has put behind them the 58-run defeat to New Zealand and are having immense trust in the process which has worked for them so far.

India, the pre-tournament favourites, didn’t have a great start to their campaign as they slumped to a heavy 58-run loss to New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday.

With their Net Run Rate (NRR) standing at -2.99, India need big victories in their remaining three Group A matches, starting from the clash against Pakistan on Sunday afternoon to have a chance at entering the semifinals.

“Whatever happened on Friday (is past), Sunday is a fresh opportunity for us. So obviously girls have gone through the process, they have gone through the grind, and they have gone through this before as well. We only tell them to stay strong, stay united and just believe in our abilities, believe in your plans, and get back to it,” said Salvi.

“It's basically (to) just believe in your processes, what has worked for you so far. And for the bowling unit, obviously, they need to stay strong, stay united and stay focused on the next challenges that they will face. At the same time, whatever they have been following so far, what's been working well for them, they just go with that,” said Salvi in the pre-match press conference.

Asked if the team was a batter short in Friday’s game against New Zealand, Salvi remarked, “I would not say that because whatever the strategy of the team is, that will be game specific and depending upon what challenges are thrown at us, accordingly the think tank will be sitting together and formulating a plan. So that's how we go about it.”

India’s fielding issues also came to the fore again – with misfields and a dropped catch of Suzie Bates by wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh being notable misses. Salvi said the improvements in fielding are a continuous process for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side.

“It is a process. We have been working on it. If you see the results, the errors are quite less than what it was earlier. So there has been a lot of improvement in that aspect. The girls and support staff - everybody's motivated into that front as well.”

“If you see the way we fielded yesterday, in barring a few, I mean a couple of deliveries, probably the rest of the time the speed of the girls was superb, the angle cutting was nice and the way they were moving across the field, that was great.”