Indian captain Mithali Raj said the team needs to “work hard” on their bowling after their nine-wicket loss to Australia in the first women’s ODI here on Tuesday.
India’s troubles in both the batting and bowling departments were exposed as the hosts chased down the target of 226 runs without any trouble to extend their record winning streak to 25.
“Well, look, you have plans, but again it’s about executing it on the ground, sometimes bowlers don’t get the momentum but there are times when you know they get the momentum. But the plan is not working, Mithali said in the post-match press conference.
“Yes, we have a lot of work to do in terms of our bowling department mainly because we are attacking spin and spinners are getting hit everywhere, so we need to change that.
India could manage only 225 for eight in an innings which they never needed and then the hosts chased down the target in 41 overs as India’s bowling lacked teeth to trouble them.
Mithali, who completed 20,000 runs in her career, lamented that the batsmen could not share the partnership.
“Look what we were looking at when you know the Australian batsmen have a batting line-up of 250, but losing two wickets, especially the batsmen like Shafali (Verma) and Smriti (Mandhana) have power. -Play yourself…
“So, it was important that the middle-order starts to compensate for that and build a partnership, that’s what we did with Yastika (Bhatia), but again we didn’t get enough partnerships in the lower-middle as well.
He quipped, “We need to partner now, instead of thinking of playing fearless cricket, the girls need to get down to develop some partnerships in the middle and that definitely makes them play fearless.” You’ll get confidence.”
Speaking about the importance of a good opening stand, Mithali said that the team would expect some runs from Mandhana, who has been playing international cricket for some time now.
“I mean, look at the opening partnership, if they give us a good start, obviously the middle-order can pick up the pace from there, but if you lose early wickets, you really have to build an innings.
Mithali said, “In the first 10 overs, you know Smriti (Mandhana) has been in the international circuit for some time, so we would expect some runs from her.” The team was planning to see all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar. For the World Cup and so it was important to try him.
Mithali, who scored her fifth consecutive fifty, said on her personal form, “I have always felt that no matter how many runs I score, there is always room for improvement and I want to maintain my game.
“I also want to grow as a player, I know I’m scoring runs but it’s not enough for the team to win, so there’s always room for improvement.”
Mithali has faced criticism for her strike rate and she replied, “Well, for me batting is always about the position, not the strike rate.”
She insisted that she wants to improve on this aspect, but it doesn’t come to her mind when it comes to batting.
“If you’re losing wickets on the other hand, you definitely don’t want to end up scoring 150. So, I don’t really think much about the strike-rate.
“Yes, improving on that aspect is always on my mind, I won’t say I definitely don’t think about it, but it doesn’t come to my mind when it comes to batting. “
Mithali said that the team physio used to keep an eye on Harmanpreet Kaur’s fitness. Harmanpreet missed the first game due to a thumb injury.
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