INDW vs ENGW | Jhulan Goswami comes to batters' aid after failure against England

India's topsy-turvy World Cup campaign suffered a hit today as the defending champions England blasted their way off to a comfortable victory against them. Indian batters crumbled under pressure and could record mere 136 runs in their innings, the paltry target which England achieved in the 32nd over with four wickets to spare.

After their horrid show against England, India pacer Jhulan Goswami backed her side's batters to come good in the upcoming matches and give the team a chance of advancing to the semi-finals. 

Jhulan informed about India's plan today and the target they aimed to set for the opposition. The veteran supported skipper Mithali Raj on the issue of her poor run in the ongoing tournament and reckoned that the batting unit would be back to its best in the next game.

"Our plan was definitely to play 300 balls, but unfortunately, we could not play full 50 overs. So, definitely, we had to pay the price for not playing the full 50 overs because our target was 240-250, which, at this ground, would have been a par score. Had we been able to do that, would have definitely been able to restrict them," Jhulan said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"I don't think so - [that] it [lack of runs from Nos. 3 and 4] is a concern. You know who is batting at No. 3: it's Mithali Raj. [She] is just one big knock away from her start. Past [previous] series also she was batting fantastically. It's just [that she is] one big knock away from [hitting form] in this tournament. I think Deepti also did a pretty decent job. And [at] No. 5 Harman [Harmanpreet Kaur] is playing, so I don't think so we have an issue. It's just one bad day that we didn't click as a batting unit," she added.

When asked about India's constant collapses while batting, the 39-year-old asserted on the "process" and reverberated that the team would come back stronger after their recent loss.

"There is no solution to it. It is a process and the game goes like it. Some day [the] top order will not work, some day middle order will not work; this is how this game has been played... but definitely it is a learning process, every day we try to address certain issues. We will definitely solve those issues and come back strongly.

"Honestly speaking, at this moment, yes, our top order, the way we are thinking, they haven't fired. But I am sure we will have to be positive about that because they have done really well in the past," Jhulan mentioned.

India will now square off against Australia, the numero uno title contender. However, Jhulan did not seem wary about her side's future but acknowledged that a few issues need urgent addressal before their next clash.

"This is such a big tournament, where, over a seven- or eight-match period, you are bound to go through ups and downs. You cannot have a straight graph. Ups and downs are part and parcel of the sport but what's important is how we come back as a group when we take the field [again] and how we better the plans we have drawn up. The mood within the team is very good, everybody is very relaxed and everybody knows what their role is. It's just that today was a bad day when we couldn't execute our plans.

"In this World Cup every match is very much important and every match - it's not easy. You can't predict and definitely you have to bounce back when you're playing against one on the best teams in the world. We have few days. We'll definitely sort out whatever things are there. And definitely go there and play positive cricket," Jhulan concluded.