Captain Mithali Raj said that batting has to step up as India suffered a 62-run defeat against New Zealand in the ongoing Women's ODI World Cup 2022 here in Hamilton at Seddon Park on Thursday.
Raj added that the total of 261 score was chaseable but India's batting went downhill as wickets kept falling at regular intervals against New Zealand.
New Zealand player Amelia Kerr starred with all-round show as she smashed fifty and took three wickets as she helped the home team in thrashing India by 62 runs. Indian batter Harmanpreet Kaur's fighting knock of 71 went in vain.
"I think after those early wickets, they got a good partnership going and it seemed like 280 would be on the cards. But we did well to pull things back at the end. It was a chaseable score, provided the top order managed the run rate properly," said Mithali Raj in the post-match presentation.
"We needed one of the batters to bat deep. There was a lot of extra bounce under lights, nothing unplayable but we could have done better. The batting needs to get better. The bowlers have done well today, they did well last game too. The batting has to step up, " she added.
Amy Satterthwaite and Amelia Kerr played brilliant innings of 75 and 50 respectively. For Women in Blue, Pooja Vastrakar scalped four wickets and was involved in a crucial ran out, while Rajeshwari Gayakwad dismissed two players.
( With inputs from ANI )
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