Published: Jul 04, 2017, 03:42 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 04, 2017, 03:41 PM (IST)
India Women have comfortably made it 3 off 3 in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 by either showing brilliance with the bat or impeccable bowling. However, despite the all-round performance so far, skipper Mithali Raj feels India have plenty to work on as they take on Sri Lanka next on July 5. In the previous game against Pakistan, India almost had the game out of their hands but their bowlers sprung as saviours. India were restricted to 169 but Ekta Bisht’s 5 for 18 helped India gain 95-run win against their arch-rivals. Mithali is mainly concerned about the batting and wants her side to build crucial partnerships at every stage.
Speaking to the reporters ahead of the July 5 clash, Mithali said, “We definitely will look into the fact that we don’t lose wickets back-to-back because that puts a lot of pressure on the incoming batters as well as the team. We need to work on our partnerships as batters. In terms of bowling, the spinners have been doing well, (against Pakistan) the pacers looked better than the last two games so it depends which wicket we play on against Sri Lanka. If it’s a fresh wicket, then we have different plans for it.”
Mithali was all praise for her bowlers, especially Mansi Joshi who played her first game of the World Cup. “Because Mansi was playing her first game of the World Cup (against Pakistan) and it was a situation where we needed wickets and not to lose runs in the first 10 overs, it was a crucial situation for us. Bowlers are in a better position and experienced. I’m really happy that Ekta rose to the occasion and delivered what the team required of her,” Mithali said.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka have not won a single game in the tournament. Skipper Inoka Ranaweera, however, hopes her side ends on a high as their chances to enter the knockouts are bleak. “At the moment India is doing really well so we’ll definitely have to play very good cricket against them to win. As a team though we’re in good condition, we are batting really well compared to the last few years. We’ll be trying to do our best as a team against India,” she said.
