India women’s team ODI skipper Mithali Raj has said that a steady start from the openers can help the side get back in the groove.
"The opening partnership - if they can give us a good start, clearly the middle order can take the momentum from there," Raj told reporters after the match.
"But if you lose wickets, you actually have to build an innings in the first ten overs. Smriti [16 in 18 balls] has been on the international circuit for a while, so we would expect some runs from her,” she added.
The Indian openers failed to leave a mark in the first ODI of the series against Australia after the two departed early in the proceedings. Mithali admitted that with the kind of batting line up that the Australian side possesses, India would need to put something around 250 to give a fight.
"When you know the sort of batting line-up the Australians have, anything closer to 250 is what we were looking at,” she added.
Mithali herself has five 50s from her last 5 ODI matches but has been under fire from her critiques for her low strike rate. Even in the last game, where debutant Yastika Bhatia batted at almost 70 SR, Mithali scored 63 off 107 balls, with a strike rate of 58.87.
The two sides will now play each other in the second ODI in Mackay on Friday. The hosts are presently leading the three-match series 1-0 and would look to take an unassailable lead while the Mithali Raj-led side would be looking to get back on track.