Onus on openers

Chasing a target of 274, the Indian openers just put on four runs when Marizanne Kapp had Smriti Mandhana caught at deep square leg for just four runs. It was the batswoman’s third single digit score after bagging back-toback ‘Player of the Match’ awards. 

Mithali admitted that the openers’ failure is a cause of worry and the team needs to get back to the drawing board at the earliest. “Yes, because it has been happening since the game against West Indies that the openers have failed. They haven’t been giving starts as much as they need to be. 

We expected one or two off-games but not four games in a row. That’s worrying. It doesn’t matter if you bat first or chase, we need to have a good opening stand,” Mithali said after India’s loss. The Indian captain said the pressure factor can never be ignored in a World Cup match. 

“When you are chasing 270, there is always going to be pressure. You need to have the start, so that the rest of the batters can take on from there. Unfortunately, we didn’t have that today,” she added. The 34-year-old heaped praise on her bowlers for stemming South Africa’s run flow in the middle overs. 

“They batted well and even though they lost a wicket, Lee played well to put them back on track initially. I thought the bowlers did a decent job of holding in the middle overs. We managed to pull ourselves back into the game. Maybe, a few shots later in the innings, got them to 270,” Mithali explained. 

The captain defended her decision to bowl first after winning the toss keeping India’s chasing history against South Africa in mind. 

“We asked a few people at the ground and came to an understanding that the team that bats second wins more. We also have chased well against South Africa in the past (in the triangular series and the World Cup qualifiers). We have come close to 260 chasing earlier. Considering these, we chose to field first,” she noted. 

Mithali said there was no room for complacency and the team needs to play ‘out of their skin’ to beat Australia and New Zealand next.

“It is a tough finish (to India’s league stage). Australia has won all their games. Both New Zealand and Australia are good. It is not going to be easy. It is up to us to work harder so that we can put up a good show. We need to play out of our skins in the next two games,” she concluded.