Just a few months ago, very few people wrote, tweeted, or even noticed when Mithali Raj brought up her sixth consecutive half-century. It was after all scored on another continent, against a team India had beaten thrice in their last four meetings, in a tournament that featured a team without ODI status. Now, pictures of her reading a book before going out to bat have flooded the internetThis is the sort of coverage that India enjoys going into their next game with the West Indies . India’s dominant opening win against England — their first ODI win against the country since 2012 — has galvanized the support of the media back home.In contrast, their next opponents, the Windies, come into the match in the most undesirable circumstances possible. The World T20 champs were given a collaring by defending ODI champions Australia.Interestingly though, both teams are led by coaches who have much in common. India’s Tushar Arothe and West Indies’ Vasbert Drakes have seen a lot of each other on the County and League circuit. Drakes was ignored by the West Indies for many years due to his participation in the County circuit, and Arothe spent much of his career playing League cricket in England.The two highlighted different areas that need improvement leading into this game. Arothe, in an interview after India’s win, underlined the team’s fielding — which was far from flawless — as critical not just in the next game, but the entire tournament. “I’m sure if we field well, we will do well”, he said.Drakes called on his senior players, like captain Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin, to take the team through. “We’re going to use the experience of the senior players and ensure that they accept that responsibility to take more ownership and bat deep.”Incidentally, both women are set to play their 100th ODI on Thursday. Taylor is also expected to move up the order, after batting at four against Australia. Both teams would do well to look at the last World Cup for instruction and inspiration. In the 2013 tournament opener, India thumped the West Indies, but the team from the Caribbean recovered valiantly, going on to reach the final. India on the other hand, succumbed to the pressure of expectations that their opening win had raised, and had two bad games to exit the tournament, without even making the Super Six.Mithali was well aware of this, as she mentioned in the pre match media interaction. “Yes, usually in the World Cups, the West Indies start very slow. But they have a good batting line-up and some good players.”Besides Taylor and Dottin, she singled out 19-year-old Hayley Matthews as a threat to her side. Matthews scored a brisk 46 against Australia, and looked set for a big score before falling against the run of play.“It’s important for us to see it as another game,” Mithali said. “We can’t get complacent from the first game. It’s important that we win this game to keep ourselves looking for a berth in the semis.” Both teams trained indoors, with a light rain keeping them off the field. Having had a full-fledged outdoor net on Tuesday, some Indian batters opted to work on specific shots indoors on Wednesday.And if the West Indies were dejected by their start to the tournament, they didn’t show it. Their training session was typically Caribbean; it started with a prayer, some football, and lots of music and laughter.With the pitch having been watered on Tuesday, there might be some moisture in what looked like a good batting surface. Against a team that hasn’t lived up to their talent in ODIs, India may need to play the conditions as well as the opposition to remain the darlings of the media.The one concern is Smriti Mandhana , who hurt her knee while fielding after returning from a lengthy injury break.Shakera Selman, the pacer, received a nasty blow on the head while fielding against Australia, and could be rested.(The author is a former Indian cricketer)