Too many dot balls. Low strike rates. Middle-order collapses. A batting line-up that doesn't finish well.
Those were some of the phrases that had trailed India into the crucial clash against New Zealand. By the end of the evening at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, each one had been crossed off the list. On Thursday, India didn't just start well but stayed the course.
When Smriti Mandhana missed a sweep and was given out lbw on 77, there was that familiar feeling. Would this be another wasted start and shift of momentum? Not this time. An almost reluctant review showed the ball had brushed the bat. Mandhana survived.
It wasn't long ago that India had watched commanding starts wilt under pressure. Against Australia, Mandhana and Pratika Rawal had added a 155-run opening stand, only for the innings to falter after Mandhana was dismissed for 80. A late collapse limited them to 330 with seven balls left in their innings.
Against England, Mandhana had again stood tall amid early wickets, but her dismissal, trying to up the ante, triggered another slide. Three wickets fell quickly, and India ended up falling short by four runs.
Thursday's contest was also a high-stakes one: a win would confirm India's place in the semi-final. The chatter before the game was more around India's credibility with the bat. Could they live up to their promise? The DY Patil Stadium, a venue that India are familiar with, with its quick outfield and batting-friendly surface, felt like the perfect stage for a revival.
However, it wasn't a smooth start for India after they were put in. Mandhana and Rawal admitted after the match that the first few overs were tricky. New Zealand's new-ball pair found movement, and India crawled to six runs after four overs.
Rawal then pounced on a few loose deliveries from Rosemary Mair, and Mandhana found her first boundary in the seventh over, dropping to one knee to sweep spinner Eden Carson for four and then hitting her for a six in her next over. From thereon, India were in consummate control.
"I like pace more than spin for sure. I like to dominate pace," Mandhana said after the match, when asked if she had planned to take on spin. "But it was an important game. There were a few nerves in there for the first three-four overs. We were trying to give a good start. I saw the scoreboard and there were three-five odd runs. I was like, 'okay, we can't do that.' Then I said [to myself], just back yourself and try and play the ball."
Vishal Dikshit with the key talking points from their win, which seals their semi-final spot
Rawal's strike rate has often come under scrutiny, raising questions about whether it added to the pressure on Mandhana and the middle order. India head coach Amol Muzumdar had dismissed the concern on match eve, insisting that India didn't see it as an issue and wanted her to "continue the way she bats".
After matching Mandhana's tempo on her way to a fifty, Rawal briefly slowed down before finding her rhythm again, notably taking on the experienced Lea Tahuhu. Perhaps the most defining moment of Rawal's innings came when she launched Tahuhu straight down the ground with a clean, straight-batted loft. She held the pose for a second as if to let everyone know she had found her rhythm.
"Initially, yes, there was a bit of struggle with me personally," Rawal said. "I was not able to middle the ball as well as I could do in the previous matches. But I'm very happy [with] the way I kept my nerves. I held my head down and just focused on everything that come my way. With Smriti obviously, on the other hand, it makes my job easier. Whatever the calculations that we do out in the middle, you don't have to do much. You just get it by just talking that what areas to target - what all the bowlers that we can target."
Mandhana blended grace with aggression and showed her range: a pulled six off a waist-high no-ball over deep backward square leg, a signature six down the ground, and even a hint of innovation when she shaped to scoop Sophie Devine before pulling out at the last second.
Muzumdar had also spoken about the need for a three-digit score, asking India's batters to convert their starts. India hadn't produced a century in five games. On Thursday, they produced two. After scores of 80 and 88 in her last two games, Mandhana reached her hundred off just 88 balls.
"The first three games did not go my way," Mandhana said. "Especially the second and the third one [against Pakistan and South Africa]. After getting to 20, I [used to tell myself that I] will back myself to play a longer innings after 20. But I was getting out. In the World Cup, you have to keep a lot of things in the past. You have to understand if you are feeling good, you have come off a good form, you just need to keep continuing and not complicating. That's the only thing I kept telling [myself], it doesn't matter when there will be the later stage. I am feeling good and that's what matters."
She departed for 109 off 95 balls in the 34th over but there was no slowdown this time, with Jemimah Rodrigues, who was promoted to No.3, hitting an unbeaten 76 off 55 balls. Her promotion was a bold call, considering she had been dropped in the previous game and had endured a lean patch in recent months. Harleen Deol had been a fixture at No. 3 for 25 ODIs running. But the move worked.
Rodrigues walked out brimming with intent, timing her drives sweetly, perhaps an evidence of the long training session a day before where she had mostly practiced that stroke. Alongside Rawal, she maintained the high tempo. Rawal soon brought up her own century, adding flourish with two sixes after reaching the landmark - it was the first time in her 23-match career she had hit two sixes in an innings. Rodrigues, meanwhile, hit 11 fours to give India the strong finish they needed.
India had finally batted the way they'd been expected to - without panic, or a mid-innings lull, or a collapse. It was as complete a batting display as they've produced all tournament.
The middle order wasn't tested, but for once, it didn't need to be, as India's batters showed they could dictate a game from start to finish. It was also a sign that this batting group has both the depth and the freedom to experiment. The win secured their semi-final spot and provided the kind of commanding statement India had been waiting to make.