Indian women’s team got into the ICC World Twenty20, 2016 with a high level of confidence and unprecedented expectations. Their settled, solid batting line-up was thought of as their biggest strength. However, after the good start, against Bangladesh, the famed top five have flattered to deceive. Totals of 96 and 90 in their next two matches, against Pakistan and England respectively, have resulted in two narrow losses. After the rain-marred match against Pakistan was lost by two runs, India conceded their third match of the tournament to England by two wickets with an over to spare. These two performances speak as much of the team’s ability to fight back with the ball and in the field as it does of their disappointing batting display. After the England loss, Purnima Rau, the head coach of Indian women’s team, minced no words while assessing the team’s dismal batting show. But while she admitted to the batters’ inability to deal with pressure, she also lauded the fightback led by bowling and fielding. Here is her chat with BCCI.TV. Batting looked so settled at the beginning of this tournament. What has gone wrong? I think it was a question of absorbing pressure. They were trying to outplay themselves, play beyond themselves. The art of batting that revolves around playing with soft hands and taking singles, taking calculated risks – something that they had done leading up to this tournament – was missing. The pressure was too much for the batters to take. And that’s where the problem occurred. You talk about the pressure. There is a lot of coverage around the Indian women’s team in this tournament, we have seen good crowd coming in the stadiums. Is that what’s playing in their heads? Most of the kids haven’t played before big crowds. I was having a chat with Sushma (Verma) and she said, ‘Ma’am, suddenly there is a roar and then sudden silence. It is difficult to concentrate at times’. Playing in front of such vocal home crowds and getting used to it is what is required. Once that barrier is broken, they get comfortable in that atmosphere and revel in it, I am very sure they will do well. There were quite a few changes in the batting order – Smriti coming in to open, Shikha at 2 down. What was the reason and can we expect more such changes? In the game against Pakistan we had a dismal powerplay (7 for 2), and that got us thinking. We felt that Smriti has done very well at the top for us and so we decided to send her to open. As our backup plan if we lose an early wicket, we wanted Shikha to go in and use the long handle. We just wanted runs in the first six overs. All in all, I agree that our batting has been under pressure. Although the last two matches are lost, you must be happy with the way the team fought back with the ball and in the field after disappointing batting performances. Yes, they have been fighters in the field. I am very proud of the kids. Against Pakistan where we were robbed of a favourable result because of rain and in this game too, despite the result I am proud of them. I know that they gave it their all and their hearts were absolutely in the game. A coach cannot ask for more. They have showed immense character right from the New Zealand series. We won the series despite losing the first two matches. In Australia we won the T20I series. This is the basic character of the team. These are aggressive kids who want to rub shoulders with the best and want to be the best. I believe that this young bunch will go a long way. The next match becomes highly important, not only to win but to win with a huge margin. As a coach how do you pump the girls up after two heartbreaking narrow losses like these? It is a challenge. In the team meetings you try to say things that you hope would motivate them. I look for words and phrases with which I can look to motivate them to do their best. As a coach I try to keep them in a very relaxed space yet ensure that they realise their mistakes. I make sure they remain a closely knit group. Against West Indies we have to win by a very big margin and get that net run-rate up. We have played well in patches and I hope we get our nose ahead just in time.