Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that it is time for the Indian women’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, to deliver with the bat in the ongoing World Cup. Hussain mentioned that Harmanpreet has a good track record, but she needs to be among the runs like Australia skipper Alyssa Healy.

In four games, Harmanpreet has scored 71 runs, with Smriti Mandhana (134 runs) and Pratika Rawal (180) doing a fantastic job as openers. India are in a spot of bother, having lost two consecutive matches against South Africa and Australia. The host nation is in the fourth spot in the standings, and another defeat could end their chances of making it to the semi-finals.

India will face England on October 19, and Hussain is expecting a better performance from the Harmanpreet-led middle-order. “Harmanpreet Kaur’s World Cup record is impressive. Alyssa Healy was not having a good World Cup before the game against India, but she has been sensational in the last two matches. She makes her performance count when it matters the most. I want to see the same from the Indian captain,” Hussain said during the JioHotstar Press Room.

Hussain refused to accept that the Women in Blue are dependent on Mandhana and Rawal. “Harleen (Deol) has shown consistency. I saw a tweet comparing strike rates. We shouldn’t forget that batters in the top order will have a higher strike rate as they bat in the powerplay overs, as compared to the middle-order batters.

“It is not right to compare the strike rates. India are not completely dependent on their openers.”

Hussain further said that all the remaining games for India are knockouts. “They have lost two matches in a row and will have to play the remaining contests as knockouts. They need to break partnerships in the matches.”