Indian women batters will look to make amends

After emphatically defeating South Africa women in the lone Test at Mysuru, the hosts have inexplicably slumped in the limited-overs contests. India ‘A’ was swept aside by the visitor in the warm-up fixture, and the senior team suffered a two-wicket defeat in the opening ODI of the three-match series here on Monday.

Gearing up for the second game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, India might draw solace from the manner in which it defended its paltry 114 in the first match. Not that it qualifies for substantial relief; the hosts need victories and critical points from these games which are part of the ICC Women’s Championship.

Mithali Raj is only too aware of it.

Facing the media late on Monday night, the skipper said: “We need to make it count, we need points and we need to do well. Ours was a batting collapse and, except for one partnership, we didn’t bat well. Their top-order too was in (the dressing room) soon, and at that time we thought we had a chance but our total wasn’t enough.”

If India’s batting flowered in Mysuru, the opposite happened once the teams shifted to Bengaluru. Except for all-rounders Jhulan Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur, no one really fired.

The bowlers did try and pull back the contest that had seemingly slipped away, but lapses like wicket-keeper Sushma Verma’s dropped catch off eventual match-winner Chloe Tryon proved costly in a low-scoring contest.

South Africa, meanwhile, is upbeat and Tryon said the victories in the practice fixture and the first ODI have left the team in a good mental space.

The Indian batters will have to find a way against the South African seamers if the hosts are to stay alive in the series.

The teams (from): India: Mithali Raj (captain), Jhulan Goswami, Poonam Raut, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Thirush Kamini, Vanitha Vellaswamy, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Ekta Bisht, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Poonam Yadav, Sneh Rana, Swagatika Rath, Shubhlakshmi Sharma and Deepti Sharma. Coach: Sudha Shah.

South Africa: Mignon du Preez (captain), Trisha Chetty (vice-captain), Savanna Cordes, Moseline Daniels, Yolani Fourie, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Lizelle Lee, Marcia Letsoalo, Nadine Moodley, Chloe Tryon, Nonkhululeko Thabethe and Dane van Niekerk. Coach: Hilton Moreeng.

Match starts at 3 p.m .