Women's World Cup: India's top-order has to fire, says Shiv Sunder Das

Shiv Sunder Das on Thursday said rotation of strike is a cause of worry and they might have to rethink the team's batting order following its 62-run defeat against New Zealand in the ICC women's World Cup. Chasing 261, India failed to capitalise on the power play with the top order boasting experienced duo of Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma alongside rookie Yastika Bhatia failing to fire as India were all out for 198 in 46.4 overs to concede a 62-run defeat. "The top order has to fire. We have the batting firepower to go deeper in the tournament. Looking at the top order, once you get going in the 10-15 overs, you can put on good score," Das said in the post-match media interaction. With three southpaws in the top-order, the White Ferns gave the new ball to off-spinner Frances Mackay as she returned with a tidy 8-1-25-0.

Read AlsoICC Women's World Cup: We didn't have a batter to take the game deep, says Mithali Raj after India's defeat against New Zealand

Captain Mithali Raj had no hesitation in admitting that top order's performance hasn't been up to the mark as India didn't have "a batter to take the game deep" in their 62-run defeat against New Zealand in the ICC Women's World Cup.

Inexperienced Yastika struggled to rotate the strike in her 59-ball 28, while Smriti and (6 from 21 balls ) and Deepti (5 from 13 balls) were equally slow as India made just 50 runs in 19.1 overs. "The strike rotation is a worry for us. The top order had has to fire. We have an experience top-order with Smriti batting. We thought, we can get some runs. Maybe we have to rethink about it (the batting order) in the next game," Das said. The 44-year-old from Odisha, however, defended the decision to open with inexperienced Yastika, who was