"Batting order needs to improve" - Mithali Raj after India suffer 62-run loss against New Zealand in 2022 Women's World Cup

India Women captain Mithali Raj rued the performance by her team's batters as they suffered a 62-run defeat against New Zealand Women in their 2022 Women's World Cup match in Hamilton today.

Chasing 261, India Women collapsed for 198, with only Harmanpreet Kaur's battling 71 taking them to a decent total.

All the top four batters failed to score big, and whatever runs they did make, came at too slow a pace, making the chase a near-impossible one.

Speaking after the match, Mithali said:

"It was a gettable total if the top order could keep the run rate under control. We did not have anyone who could take us over the line."

She said there was some extra bounce, but it wasn't an unplayable pitch and said that the batters need to step up.

"Under the lights, there was a lot of extra bounce; it wasn't unplayable, but we could have done better. The batting order needs to improve," she said.

Harmanpreet Kaur managed to hit 71 off 63, pulling off some of her trademark slog-sweeps, but her onslaught was too little too late, with the asking rate going up with every over.

"Did a good job pulling things back" - Mithali Raj praises India Women bowlers

New Zealand Women looked set to put up a huge total after being put in to bat by Mithali Raj, but India's bowlers managed to keep finding breakthroughs and restricted them to 260/9. Pooja Vastrakar was the pick of the lot, with four wickets in her 10 overs.

The India skipper praised their bowling effort and said:

"I thought they got a solid partnership going after losing those early wickets, and it seemed like 280 was in the cards. But, in the end, we did a good job of pulling things back."

She went on to add:

"The bowlers performed admirably tonight, as they did in the previous game."

India Women are now fifth in the points table with one win and one defeat. They will next face West Indies Women, who have won both their matches so far.