"We definitely didn't have partnerships up the order" - Mithali Raj on what went wrong in the Women's World Cup 2022 clash against England

Mithali Raj has attributed Team India's loss in the Women's World Cup 2022 encounter against England to their top-order batters' failure to build partnerships.

The Indian eves were reduced to a score of 28/3 by the end of the eighth over after being asked to bat first. Although Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur staged a mini-recovery, the Indian team was eventually bowled out for just 134 runs.

In the post-match presentation, Mithali Raj was asked where it went wrong in the batting. She responded:

"We definitely didn't have partnerships up the order and that is something that didn't go our way today despite getting what we wanted after losing the toss."

The Indian skipper was further asked if she was pleased with the bowling effort and if it might have been a different situation had the Women in Blue posted 200 runs on the board. Mithali Raj replied:

"When you lose, you always think that you are short of a few runs. Yes, the thought of putting up 200-plus would have made it a little more difficult for the England batters, the match could have gone either way."

England chased down the 135-run target in the 32nd over but lost six wickets in the process. Heather Knight (53*) and Nat Sciver (45) starred with the bat for the defending champions.

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Mithali Raj was also asked if the intensity on the field, especially Harmanpreet's brilliant catch, could be taken as positives from the encounter. She responded:

"I think every game as a fielding unit we have been doing well and we hope to continue to do that, that is something we have improved over the games. In terms of batting, that's a concern but we will try to address that in the next game knowing that we are playing the side which has not been beaten by any team in the tournament. So we really need to work hard in the next game."

In conclusion, the 39-year-old was asked for a word on Jhulan Goswami reaching the 250-wicket milestone in women's ODIs. Mithali Raj replied:

"It's an honor to play alongside her and congratulations for this big milestone and how difficult it is for a fast bowler to play for so many years at this level and to deliver each time she takes on the field."

Goswami is the highest wicket-taker in the history of women's ODI cricket as well as World Cups. The lanky pacer trapped Tammy Beaumont plumb in front to achieve the 250-wicket landmark.