India captain Mithali Raj and batting coach Shiv Sunder Das have said that to get a good result, their top order needs to "go deep" in the 2022 ODI World Cup.
Follow Us
India captain Mithali Raj and batting coach Shiv Sunder Das have said that to get a good result, their top order needs to “go deep” in the 2022 ODI World Cup. While speaking after India’s struggling chase against New Zealand in Hamilton, Das said that he believes India can achieve this, given their “batting firepower”.
“We thought it was chaseable but provided we had the top order going,” Mithali Raj said at her post-match interview after India, chasing 261, were bowled out for 198 in the 47th over. “But back-to-back wickets put a lot of pressure because we didn’t have batter who can take it deep.”
READ MORE: New Zealand vs India: White Ferns proved too strong for Team India in Hamilton
India’s 62-run defeat showed their weaknesses as a batting unit. In their opening win against Pakistan in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, a hundred-run stand from Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar helped India. Against New Zealand, No. 5 Harmanpreet Kaur’s 71 off 63 was the only positive as the required run rate went to over seven by the 20th-over mark as well.
In both matches, India’s powerplay scoring was a matter of concern. They made 33 for 1 against Pakistan whereas against New Zealand, they made 26 for 2 as well. “The top order has to fire,” Das said after the match. “We have the batting firepower to go deep in the tournament.”
The brought Yastika Bhatia in place of Shafali Verma who was struggling with the bat but even that too didn’t help India.
“She got a fair chance for the last seven-eight games and we thought we could [give her] a bit of break,” Das said, when he was asked about Verma’s exclusion. “She is a talented batter and I hope in this break she gets going and hopefully she comes back stronger in the [next] few games.”
“Looking at the top order, once we get going in the first 10-15 overs, we can put up a good score on the board,” Das said. “If you see our top order, I think it’s an experienced top order. With Smriti batting in the top order, we thought we could get some runs from the top order, but maybe we have to think about this decision in the next game.”
READ MORE: NZ Series Before World Cup Will Help Us Adjust to Conditions – Jhulan Goswami
However, Bhatia has been in form with the bat leading up to the World Cup and scored 58 and 42 in the tournament’s warm-ups as well. But she struggled to score against New Zealand.
“You have to give credit to the New Zealand bowlers [for] the way they bowled to her,” Das said. “What we have seen in the practice matches and the [earlier] matches, she is a really good bat and she has the strokes. As top-order batsman, as an opener, she did well and we thought like, no, she would come good. She has played only one game [in the World Cup]. I hope she comes good in the next matches.”
“We played a whole series against New Zealand and picked up a few variations of her during the matches and we saw a lot of reviews,” Das said about Kerr’s googly, which removed Richa Ghosh on a first-ball duck. “I think it’s just a matter of picking the right line and right length. In the few games we played [against New Zealand], she bowled really well to our batters.”
However, Team India will play their next game on Saturday, against West Indies, while New Zealand take on Australia, on Sunday as well.
