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India's skipper Mithali Raj rued her side's dismal performance against the mighty Australia in the Women's World Cup match on Saturday (March 19). She said the fielders failed to back up the bowlers that turned the tide against India.
India's path to the semi-finals got a lot tougher after a six-wicket loss to Australia in the Women's World Cup as the Meg Lanning-led side became the first to qualify for the last four stage with a record chase in tournament history.
Half-centuries from skipper Mithali Raj (68 off 96 balls), Yastika Bhatia (59 off 83) and Harmanpreet Kaur (57 not out off 47) steered India to 277 for seven. The total had never been chased before in tournament history but Australia's ominous form and batting friendly conditions at Eden Park meant that they cruised to their fifth win in as many games.
"When you lose you always feel you are 10-15 runs short. I think the way Australia started the innings, were always ahead of the asking rate. The fielders couldn't back up the bowlers," Mithali said after the match.
Openers Alyssa Healy (72 off 65) and Rachael Haynes (43 off 52) got Australia off to a flier with a 121-run stand before skipper Lanning (97 off 107) took the team on the cusp of victory.
Jhulan Goswami needed to defend eight runs off the final over but Beth Mooney (30 not out of 20) got the job done in the first three balls. The path to the semifinals has become tougher for India after their third loss in five games. The 2017 edition runners-up play their remaining games against South Africa and Bangladesh.
"The batting is something we wanted to improve and we did. We need to do well in all departments in the remaining games. Next two games are must win. Thanks to all the Indians who came here to support the girls. She (Jhulan) brings in a lot of experience. Incredible for a fast bowler to play 200 games for the country, takes a lot of discipline. She is a role model for many players and young girls back in India," Mithali added.
Meanwhile, India's young batter Yastika Bhatia said had they picked up some early wickets and the end result could have been different.
"They (Australia) have been playing superb ricket, everyone in their team takes responsibility," left-handed Yastika said in the post-match media interaction.
"It was Meg Lanning (97) who just took it on herself to take the team over the line. Her intent quite clear from the beginning, though she got out. Still, we came pretty close, it could have gone either way, we could have crossed the line."
India, runners-up in 2017 edition, had eliminated Australia en route to the final. And Yastika said despite their ominous form, Australia are a beatable side.
"It's nothing like they can't be beaten. We can do it for sure. Our team is really good, we can do it in the semis or finals," the 21-year-old said.
"I think it was a defendable total. Credit to the Aussie batters the way they started. Healy and Hyanes started aggressively.
"We would have liked to take more wickets in the power play but they played really well. That (early wickets) would have turned the game but they played really well," she added.
