Women's World T20: Disappointed India skipper Mithali Raj blames poor show in opening overs for Pakistan loss

New Delhi: Disappointed at India’s two-run defeat via Duckworth-Lewis method at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan in the Women’s World T20 cricket tournament here today, skipper Mithali Raj conceded that the home side lost the match in the first six overs of both the innings. Asked to bat, India struggled badly and scored just seven runs for the loss of two wickets in the six overs of powerplay to finally scamper to 96 for seven. [caption id=“attachment_2685724” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pakistan appeal during their game against India. GettyImages[/caption] The scenario was the same when the home side came out to defend the score as Pakistan raced off to 39 for one in the first six overs of their powerplay before eventually winning the rain-affected match by two runs under D/L method. “In the initial overs the way we batted, bowled and fielded became very crucial. While batting we got stuck in the first six overs and also gave away runs while bowling,” a dejected Mithali said at the post-match press conference. Pakistani eves were a disciplined lot in their bowling and fielding departments as they stifled Indian batters, who failed to get going, striking just six boundaries and one six during their innings. “They (Pakistan) were very disciplined and were backed by their fielding. In the first 10 overs we hardly got any boundaries. We could not bowl with discipline when we started off the innings,” the Indian captain said while praising the opponents. “As a team we did not play according to our expectation. This is part of sport but it is disappointing (to lose via D/L method). It could have been different had we played the last four overs but because of D/L we lost just by 2 runs. It is unfortunate and frustrating,” Mithali said. With a win and a loss under their belt, the Indian women will now play two crucial Group B matches against England and the West Indies in their quest for a semifinal berth. “Now we have two important games against England and West Indies. We have to regroup and play our best cricket to qualify for the semifinals,” said the Indian captain. PTI