Indian women's team suffered a 2-1 defeat in the three-match ODI series against England.
India suffered a 2-1 defeat in the three-match ODI series. While the Mithali Raj-led side lost the first two games by eight and five wickets respectively, they registered a consolation four-wicket victory in the third ODI.
See Also: Indian cricket fraternity lauds Mithali Raj as she guides India to 4-wicket win in 3rd ODI
Apart from Mithali (206 runs), no Indian batter managed to touch the 100-run mark in the ODI series, which concluded on Saturday (July 3) in Worcester.
“I think bowlers brought us back into the game. We have to learn lot many things from this series. I think fielding improved immensely, bowling has improved immensely, batting has to be up if we are aiming at the World cup,” Powar said in a video posted by the BCCI on its Twitter account.
Mithali smashed three half-centuries in the series and became the highest run-getter in women’s cricket across formats. Thanks to her 75 not out off 86 balls, India chased down the target of 220 with three balls to spare.
“I think she deserves every praising word out there. She has been a fantastic servant of the game. 22 years of cricket and I think she is a role model for a lot of our girls. She has single-handedly won us the game. Chasing 220 on a low bounce track, she took us over the line,” Powar said of the India skipper.
He also had special words reserved for Sneh Rana, who played a valuable knock of 22-ball 24 in the final ODI and also scored a half-century on her Test debut to help India draw the one-off match against England last month.
“Sneh Rana is a find of this series. The way she was bowling at Southampton in practice session, we thought we should give her a chance. It was a difficult decision to play two off-spinners but she played her role to the core,” Powar said.
“I am really happy for her, being an off-spinner I can see the talent, she is a player who can play in crunch situations and that’s what we needed right now, when the big tournaments or big series comes up, we need players of calibre who can take pressure,” he further remarked.
Powar also showered rich praise on veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami.
“I think Jhulan Goswami is one of the legends of women’s cricket and her ethics, preparations, commitment towards team, commitment towards dressing room and commitment towards young players, that makes a huge difference to us as a team.”
India and England will now square off in a three-match T20I series, starting on Friday (July 9) at Northampton.