Mithali Raj expects more from openers, spinners

Mithali Raj made her fifth consecutive fifty in ODIs on Tuesday, but that wasn’t enough to stop Australia’s stunning streak of wins.

Published : Sep 21, 2021 15:02 IST

Mithali top-scored for India with a 107-ball 63 helping the visitors reach 225 for 8 in its 50 overs.

Mithali Raj made her fifth consecutive fifty in ODIs on Tuesday, but that wasn’t enough to stop Australia’s stunning streak of wins. After losing the first of the three matches in the ODI series at Mackay, rather comprehensively, the Indian captain admitted her team needed much to do.

She expressed concerns about both batting and bowling. She said more was expected from the openers.

ALSO READ |

“If they can give us a good start, clearly the middle order can take the momentum from there,” Mithali told reporters.

 

“But if you lose early wickets, you actually have to build an innings in the first ten overs. Smriti (Mandhana) has been on the international circuit for a while, so we would expect some runs from her.”

ALSO READ |

She was expecting more from the spinners as well. “We are a spin attack, and the spinners are getting hit everywhere, so that's something we need to look into,” the captain said.

“The wicket is good for batters as well as fast bowlers. Having said that, the bowlers need to be a little tighter in their line and length on a wicket like this, which we did get to see with the Australian fast bowlers but not really with the Indian seamers.”