"Mithali Raj's approach is pulling India down" - Fans disappointed after India's loss against New Zealand in Women's World Cup 2022
Mithali Raj and Co. failed to get the better of hosts New Zealand in India's second game of the ongoing Women's World Cup on Thursday. Chasing a competitive target of 261, the Women in Blue were bowled out for 198, falling 62 runs short.
The Indian bowlers did a good job of restricting the hosts to below 300 after the kind of start that they had. However, the batters failed to back it up and their lack of intent once again cost India the game.
Twitter disappointed with Mithali Raj's conservative approach
Fans on Twitter were disappointed with the loss and criticized the Indian batters, especially Mithali Raj, for their approach while chasing the target.
Here are some of the reactions:
In a chase of 261, where the Reqd RR is 5.22, Mithali batted 56 balls at a run rate of 3.32, while Yastika batted 59 balls for a run rate of 2.84. That's 19.1 overs batted at a run rate of 3.07.
Very difficult to chase 260 like this.
#CWC22
Mithali's approach is what is pulling India down. Single handedly arrests momentum and leaves others with too much to do. In 220-225 chases, it works. In 250-275 games, only Harmanpreet and Smriti are match winners. #WomensDay #women #MithaliRaj #Indian
I have no words left about what our batting coach is doing. Shafali started playing defensive, Mandhana also started slowly in the last 2 matches. Mithali is back in her previous form she is not playing the way she played the Nz series. https://t.co/rfniDA9DHL
When you are 12 / 1 in 7.2 overs chasing 260 and then realising Mithali is yet to come https://t.co/Rqz8LPHCSc
A wonderful innings from Harmanpreet comes to an end. The top and middle order failures meant, india was never in the match. The first 20 overs show how they never showed the intent to chase it.
#INDvNZ
And it's harsh but with this batting and fielding, India don't deserve to win the world cup in 2022 atleast. In 2017 they did. The times were different. We certainly haven't evolved with the game.
#INDvNZ
A tame end to the match after some fireworks from Harman, Jhulan and that one clubbing down the ground from Meghna. Lot of work to do about the SR, yet again.
Barely unable to touch 3 RPO needs for some retrospection.
#CWC22
#INDvsNZ
And this was a 50 over match.
#INDvsNZ https://t.co/9rEsCdW8X1
Indian women's team is among the worst playing this WC.. We need more players like shafali who might be inconsistent but atleast play with intent. Aus and Eng are head and shoulders above this Tuk Tuk Indian team. #MithaliRaj | #IndvsNZ | @TukTuk_Academy | #CricketTwitter https://t.co/PaBk1G6Oqi
Mithali : “We didn't have a batter who could hit the NZ bowlers.”
Saying this after dropping Shafali from the XI, Jemimah from the squad. To say this after playing at a SR of 43 in this WC, don't she have any shame?
Mithali's lack of intent is infectious. It has seeped into young girls like Yastika as well. Even Shafali has looked tentative on this tour. Noicee.
India opted to bowl first and wanted to make the new ball count. They did pick up a couple of quick wickets, but all-rounders Amelia Kerr and Amy Satterthwaite put up a strong 67-run stand for the third wicket.
The White Ferns looked set for a big score but the likes of Pooja Vastrakar bowled brilliantly at the death, ending up with figures of 4/34. New Zealand still had a decent total on the board and the Women in Blue needed a good start from their openers.
However, that was not to be as both Smriti Mandhana and Bhatia struggled for timing from the get-go. Lea Tahuhu was sensational with the new ball as the hosts conceded just 50 runs in the first 20 overs.
This left a lot of pressure on the Indian middle order to score quickly. Mithali once again failed to provide any impetus to the Indian chase and would be disappointed with her effort.
Harmanpreet Kaur got to her fifty and then unleashed an array of strokes, but it was too little too late.
India will play their next match against the in-form West Indies on Saturday. They will need to rectify their mistakes soon if they hope to qualify for the semifinals.