India women vs England women 1st ODI: Lack of rotation and dot balls worry skipper Mithali Raj

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Bristol, June 28: After suffering a defeat in the first ODI of the three-match series against England, India women skipper Mithali Raj said her side needs to look into rotating the strike more often so that lesser dot balls are played.

Half-centuries from Tammy Beaumont and Natalie Sciver helped England women's team register an easy win over India in the first ODI.

England defeated India by eight wickets as the hosts chased down the target of 202 runs quite easily to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Batting first, India was able to score just 201/8 with Mitali top-scoring with a knock of 72. The visitors played 181 dot balls in their innings and it resulted in Raj and the team having no momentum throughout their innings.

"Clearly, yes, we need to look into that aspect and work on rotating the strike. Having said that, we require at least another top-order batter, in the top five, to get us the runs. We also need to understand that the England bowlers are very experienced, the seamers especially than the seamers we have. They are bowling in their conditions, they know how to bowl in their conditions, and they really bowled well today, we definitely have to look into rotating the striking aspect," said Mithali.

When asked whether there would be changes in the second ODI, Mithali said: "We will definitely look into the composition of the team, there would be a little more shuffle in the batting order to see whether we can improve in the things we have not done well in the first ODI."

Mithali also talked about how batting at number four is providing her a chance to groom young talent and give more opportunities to newer players. "I think I have got most of my runs in the number three slot, but it is also important to have batters in the side. We cannot really fill the line-up with all-rounders who sort of pitch in bowling or in batting. We need to have batters who will score runs.

"If I go at number four, I am also giving an opportunity for the team because I know for a fact that I am not going to play forever. I also need to groom players in a sense when I am around, and guide them in the middle," said Mithali.