Indian captain Mithali Raj and senior pacer Jhulan Goswami said on Wednesday that the best hitters have not performed at the level expected of them, but expressed hope that they would quickly make up for it in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup. India was bundled for 134 by struggling defending champions England, who managed to beat the goal to 31.2 overs with four wickets left in a league stage on Wednesday. This was England’s first win after three consecutive defeats that messed up their title defence.
“We had absolutely no partnership at the top of the order, despite getting what we wanted after losing the toss. The thought of putting 200+, the match could have gone either way,” Raj said after the loss that just after a huge win over the West Indies in the previous match in which Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur scored hundreds.
“Every game as a field unit we do well and we hope to continue to do so. The hitting is a concern, but we will try to address that in the next game, we are playing against a team that has lost to no one.” she added about the clash against mighty Australia next.
The opinion was echoed by Goswami during the press conference after the math.
“Honestly, at the moment yes our top order, as we think they haven’t shot, but I’m sure you’ll have to be positive about that because they’ve done really well in the past,” she said. †
“…the way we thought they didn’t hit, but I’m hopeful they come back hard in the next game,” added Goswami.
Despite the defeat, India maintained their third place in the eight-team standings with four points from two wins and the same number of losses. England moved up one place to sixth with two points from four games.
“Because everyone wants to do well and this is the biggest platform, everyone wants to do well and contribute to the team. Again, I am hopeful that they will come back stronger in the next match,” added Goswami, who opted for her 250th ODI wicket in the game.
Further poking if there was a strategy to prevent such collapses, she said: “There is no solution to it. It is a process and the game is going as it is.
“One day the top order won’t work, one day the middle order won’t work; this is how this game is played. Also in bowling, one day bowlers won’t bowl well, others will come to support, that that is, the way this game is played.
“But it’s definitely a learning process. Every day we try to tackle certain problems, we will definitely solve these problems and come back strong,” explained the spearhead pace.
Goswami also said the team was disappointed that it was unable to complete its share of 50 overs while hitting.
“Sure, we had a plan to play 300 balls, but unfortunately we couldn’t play the full 50 overs. We definitely had to pay a price for it. Our goal was to get to 240 or 250 par.
“If we could have gotten there we could have narrowed them down, but in cricket sometimes it happens that you plan really well, but some things don’t get in your way,” explained the right arm pacer.
“You have to understand that you are playing against one of the best teams (in) England, they have done very well in recent years. Unfortunately we have not been able to execute our plan well today,” she insisted.
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When I personally got 250 ODI scalp, Goswami said, “When I started I never thought about it, I just wanted to go there and express myself all the time.” India, which has now suffered two defeats in the selection tournament, will play against table toppers Australia on March 19 in Auckland.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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