Visakhapatnam: The Indian women’s cricket team’s misfiring top-order batters have been defended by its wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, who said that the scratchy outings in the ongoing ODI World Cup do not define them.
Despite playing on a rather easy-paced track, India’s top batters failed to fire for the third successive time in the World Cup as the team lost by three wickets to South Africa here on Thursday.
The side was reeling at 102/6 after Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues fell in quick succession. Ghosh (94) then repaired the innings in the company of tail-end batters to take India to 251, but South Africa scaled the target in a tense chase.
“First, about the top-order -- they’re all very good players. One match doesn’t define them. Anything can happen in cricket; it’s our job to do our best every time. You can’t always put the blame on the top order,” said Ghosh in the post-match press conference.
“Secondly, we never gave up on the match -- we played till the last ball and tried to get as many runs as possible. I think the turning point came in Kranti’s over -- that one six and one four she (Nadine de Klerk) hit really changed the momentum. Otherwise, everything was under control. We kept playing good shots till the end,” she added.
Ghosh said the team will review the result, but it has not affected its confidence ahead of the important match against Australia on Sunday.
“We’ll sit down and review -- see what went well, where we can improve, and how we can keep learning every day. There’ll be a meeting for that. One game won’t change our mindset. We’ll plan things step by step during practice sessions and stay positive. Whatever lessons we got from this match, we’ll carry them forward,” she noted.
The match might not have gone in India’s favour, but Ghosh displayed her adaptive skills during her 77-ball knock. The 22-year-old had to make some quick runs at death against Pakistan in Colombo, but here she had to knuckle down and rescue her side against South Africa.