India fell agonisingly short of Australia's 258-run total as the Women in Blue suffered a three-run defeat to the World Champions at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The hosts were not up to the mark in the field as they dropped as many as seven catches in the first innings which saw the Aussies reach to a competitive total of 258. Speaking after the match, Indian women's team head coach Amol Muzumdar highlighted India's struggle against the Aussies.
Muzumdar stated that the Indian team needs to work on its fielding and also on its fitness. "We're in the process of building it up. There's no doubt that our fielding was below par today. We dropped about six catches (seven). It always happens in a game. Even they dropped a few. But having said that, we still are a work in progress. If we get time post this series, I'm sure we'll try to spend a lot of time on fielding and fitness," he said after the match.
The 49-year-old did not point out any player but stated that the team needs to get better in the death overs - both while batting and while bowling. India leaked 18 runs off the final over after dropping seven catches on the field before that. With the bat, the hosts could not close the game and lost wickets in heaps.
"At the end of the day we can all sit and say 'oh, we missed out by three runs' but there were about 600 balls bowled in that. So we can always go back and talk about it in hindsight. Yes, we fell short by three runs but I cannot name anyone for the defeat. It's just a collective effort. Probably just one more shot or one more stop in the field could have done the trick.
"I think that didn't tilt the balance but I thought that just gave the momentum to Australia a little bit going into the dressing room. That's one area where I feel we need to have a look in and improve ourselves going forward, is the death overs, whether it is batting or bowling. We'll be working hard on that," he said.
Muzumdar praised Richa Ghosh, who played a brilliant 96-run knock. "Richa, Fantastic knock, what a knock it was. Under pressure, at No.3 - a new position for her - and she's just proven why she is spoken about highly. Her talent speaks for herself. I think probably a hundred would have been an appropriate one for her. But unfortunately, she got out. I think it was a special knock.
"Richa is our No.3, we believe that she can be a good top-order player. We believe in her talent and you've seen what kind of shots she can play. And if she can use the first 10 overs and then play according to the situation, that is the best spot for her. At least now we feel that Richa at No.3 will be a very good choice," he said.
