Follow UsIndia’s top order has been quite wobbly thus far in the Women’s ODI World Cup, with scores of 124/6, 159/5 and 102/6 in their three clashes. It has put added pressure on the lower order, who have managed to bail India out of trouble in all three clashes.
If it were Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur in the first clash against Sri Lanka, it was Sneh Rana and Richa Ghosh in the second against Pakistan. However, here against South Africa, it was a one-way traffic, as Ghosh’s record-breaking 77-ball 94 took India to 251 all out.
In the end, though, it wasn’t enough as South Africa chased down the total with seven balls to spare. Reflecting on the loss, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur pointed out that the top order needs to take more responsibility.
“As a top-order we did not take responsibility and lost too many wickets, we need to go back to the process. We kept losing wickets when we were in the middle. But a lot of learning for us because in the last few games we have been making the same mistake,” Harmanpreet said after the clash.
“I think as a group we need to sit and discuss which things can work for us to get a decent total on the board. It's a long tournament. I know today was a tough game for us. But a lot of learning and a lot of positives to see. As you mentioned, we have good games coming up. The important thing is to keep ourselves in a positive frame of mind and keep doing the right things, keep improving day by day,” she added.
However, Harmanpreet was quick to praise Ghosh, who pulled India out of immense trouble with one heck of an innings that saw her smash 11 fours and four sixes, striking at a healthy strike rate of 122.08.
“Richa [Ghosh] has always been outstanding for us. She is someone who can always turn the game. And today the way she was hitting, we all were very pleased to see that. She is someone who can always hit those big sixes and get a big total on the board. And I think today she played it really beautifully. Hopefully, she will continue,” she concluded.
It was India’s first loss of the tournament, and they will hope to turn their fortunes around against World Champions, Australia, on October 12 (Sunday).