Veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami feels the Indian middle-order is one good knock away from regaining form and the bowler has backed them to come good in upcoming games against England.
India suffered an eight-wicket loss in the first ODI of the three-match series. The India batters struggled to get their feet in except skipper Mithali Raj, who scored a gutsy fifty in the opening ODI.
Teen sensation Shafali Verma too got out after scoring just 15 runs. Jhulan said people are expecting too much from the opening batter.
"It's just her (Shafali) first match. She just made her debut in ODIs and you are expecting so much from her, maybe because that's the impact she has," said Jhulan during a virtual press conference on Tuesday.
"And coming back to number 3,4,5, Punam and Mithali have plenty of experience, Harman is our vice-captain they all just need one good knock to get into the groove.
"Mithali is very consistent, in the South Africa series she batted so well, in the first ODI against England she scored a fifty. Harman needs one good knock and we know she will be back, so one good knock is required from our middle order," she added.
Talking about the batting position, Jhulan said," We are searching for options ahead of the World Cup and trying to settle down a few combinations. We will sort it out in the coming matches."
India had scored 201 in the 50 overs in the opening ODI and England didn't find any problem in chasing the total as they got over the line with 15 overs still in their hands.
Jhulan said it's "difficult" to predict what should be a par score for India as in modern-day cricket any target seems possible.
"It's a very difficult question to answer. In cricket, you never know what particular target is a par score for the bowlers to defend. The game of cricket is such that we (bowlers) have a lot of restrictions but there are no restrictions for batters as such. But honestly speaking, as a bowling unit we have to perform responsibly if we want to win the upcoming games," said Jhulan while replying to anquery.
At the age of 38, Jhulan is India's most trusted fast bowler and the pacer considers herself as a youngster who just wants to enjoy bowling.
"I still consider myself a youngster. I am enjoying my bowling, I just try to bowl a maximum number of overs. I was very much excited to bowl in red-ball cricket after seven years. There were some wear and tear but that's part and parcel of a bowler's life," said Jhulan.
Both India and England will now lock horns in the second ODI on Wednesday here in Taunton.
( With inputs from ANI )
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