Need to play spin better, says Knight

Mumbai: Undeterred by the 66-run loss in the opening women’s ODI international against India, England skipper Heather Knight on Friday said the World Cup holders are capable of bouncing back in the three-match series.“The total was perfectly chaseable. We lost the fir0st game in the World Cup. 

We have lost games earlier in the series and come back as well. We are taking one game at a time. We need to build partnerships,” Knight said at the post-match conference. “We bowled well, but were unlucky not to take more wickets up front. But we were more than happy with 200 (plus) to chase,” insisted Heather, who remained unbeaten on 39 in 66 balls. 

For India, opener Jemimah Rodrigues stroked her way to 48 in 58 balls and skipper Mithali Raj got a steady 44 from 74 balls, before the bowlers helped them defend the modest score with left arm spinner Ekta Bisht claiming four for 25, including three in the last over of the game. Conceding that the team were unable to play spin well on Friday, Heather said the key was to play a couple of overs to gauge the turn and bounce. 

“I don’t think we played it (spin) particularly well today. The pitch started to turn and deteriorated too. There was inconsistent spin as well which makes it harder. It was sticky, it turned but once you got to play 15-20 balls it became easier to play shots. The first 10-15 balls were the key,” she said.