Pleased with team effort - Aguilleira

West Indies' captain Merissa Aguilleira was pleased with the all-round effort of her team, and especially the batting, after they routed Sri Lanka by 209 runs in their second match of the Women's World Cup at the MIG Ground in Mumbai. They were bowled out for 179 in their previous match at the Brabourne Stadium, and three days later, the team put up a total of 368 here.

"I must say this is a great example of a team effort," Aguilleira said. "The batsmen did extremely well leading us upfront. We had a lot of people getting into the act with the bat. After that we followed up with the ball also. I think it was an all-round performance."

The major contribution was Stafanie Taylor's knock of 171 and she almost carried her bat through the innings. Aguilleira said the team is always confident of putting up a big score when Taylor is in the middle.

"We cherish Stafanie because she is such a phenomenal player and whenever she bats we believe that we will be able to get runs. She is very dedicated and we look forward to seeing more such innings from her in the future."

Taylor, who crossed her previous best score of 147, said she wanted to score as many runs as possible and that the thought of scoring 200 had crossed her mind. "My aim was just to go out there and do my best and build an innings with the others. The coach wanted me to score 200 today but unfortunately I was tired. I was trying but I think fatigue got the best of me."

Shashikala Siriwardene, the Sri Lanka Women's captain, was particularly unhappy with the team's fielding, as they dropped catches, missed run-outs and gave away many runs in overthrows. "Our fielding let us down very badly. I am very disappointed with it," she said. "Eighty percent of the singles that they took shouldn't have been conceded."

Siriwardene had put West Indies in to bat in slightly hazy conditions. But the West Indies batsmen were hardly troubled by the bowlers, who did not get much assistance from the pitch. "At one point I felt that we should have batted first," she said. "We thought that there was something in the pitch for the bowlers, like the England match. But sometimes we make wrong decisions and we look to improvise."

West Indies struck a total of 34 fours and seven sixes, a majority of them hit by Taylor and Deandra Dottin. Apart from the toss and the fielding, Siriwardene said, one of the main differences in the two teams was the way the West Indies batsmen hit the ball hard. "We all know West Indies players use their power a lot. They can clear the fence at any time. Hopefully we won't have to face the same problem against India in our next match."

All four teams in Group A have now played two matches, and won one and lost one each, which means net run-rate will come into play. England will now take on West Indies and India will play Sri Lanka on February 5, which will decide which teams proceed to the Super Sixes.

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South Africa hit back after Stone's five

England U-19s 52 for 3 trail South Africa U-19s 228 (Orros 69, Stone 5-31) by 176 runs
Scorecard

South Africa's bowlers hit back with bat and ball against England on day one of the second Test, after a disastrous start in which they were reduced to 8 for 4 and then 54 for 6. Vassilli Orros' 69 sparked a recovery before a last-wicket stand of 79 took South Africa to a respectable 228 and the hosts then took early wickets to leave England on 52 for 3 at the close.

Kagiso Rabada, whose 46 batting at No. 11 was South Africa's second-top score, made the opening breakthrough before his last-wicket partner, Jan Frylinck, added another. From 7 for 2, England recovered through Dominic Sibley and Kishen Velani but the latter fell for 25 shortly before the close.

England losing their way managed to overshadow a fine performance with the ball by their captain, Oli Stone. The Northamptonshire quick took 5 for 31 from 21 overs as South Africa seemingly squandered the opportunity to bat first after winning the toss. Orros and Vincent Moore rescued the innings with a seventh-wicket partnership worth 91, which was eventually broken by England opener Jonathan Tattersall's legspin.

Tattersall ended up with 2 for 58 but he was hit out of the attack by Rabada, who collected five fours and a six before being bowled four short of a half-century by Ed Barnard.

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Hales keen to continue England rise

England received positive news on Stuart Broad and Luke Wright, despite another curtailed practice session ahead of their first warm-up match on Monday. Wright had hurt his hand while fielding on Saturday, while Broad has been recovering from a heel injury that saw him miss England's limited-overs commitments in India, but both are expected to be fit for selection against a New Zealand XI in Whangerei.

Rain again cut short England's opportunity to train but Wright was able to bat, and Broad bowled outdoors for the second time on tour. Broad, England's T20 captain, has not played competitively since the second Test between England and India at Mumbai in November and has had his boots specially modified to try and cure the injury to his problematic heel.

England will play New Zealand in three T20s, starting on Saturday. While several members of the squad have been on ODI duty during January, the likes of Wright, Michael Lumb and Alex Hales played T20 in Australia's Big Bash League after helping England to a 1-1 T20 draw against India before Christmas. Hales, who scored 56 and 42 in India, further signposted his talent with a stunning 89 from 52 balls for Melbourne Renegades after being flown in as a last-minute replacement for the injured Marlon Samuels.

"I'd have to say it would be up there, as one of my highlights," Hales said. "I was glad to get that Big Bash opportunity - it was a little bit unexpected. I'd literally jumped straight off the plane, and genuinely don't remember too much about it. But it's a very strong competition, with very good overseas players, and something I'd definitely like to do again."

Hales subsequently pulled out of a proposed stint in the Bangladesh Premier League, where Wright turned out for Dhaka Gladiators, and he had been barred from entering the IPL auction by his county, Nottinghamshire. But he is not confining his goals to T20 and further displays of destructive hitting could help further his claims for an ODI debut, despite England's plethora of options at the top of the order.

"Any chance you get on the Big Bash or international stage means you can stake a claim to play at the top level," he said. "I'm pleased I did that then. But I've still got a long way to go, and a lot of ambition in the rest of cricket. I'm happy with how I'm playing at the moment, still working hard with the management here and the people back at Nottinghamshire. I'm not going to rest on my laurels at all, and I'm hoping to put up a couple of good performances against these Kiwis."

"Any opportunity in an England shirt is a time to put pressure on the guys [ahead of you].I didn't expect to go [to India]. The top order in the ODI side is incredibly strong, and something I'm going to have to work really hard to try to break into."

Alongside England's preparations for the T20 series, a couple of names in the New Zealand XI squad will provide the fixture with added interest. Ross Taylor is likely to return to New Zealand colours for the first time since he was removed from the captaincy and opted out of touring South Africa, while the former Australia wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi, who has completed his qualification period, could take the next step on his journey towards resuming his international career with New Zealand.

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Watson to make ODI return

Shane Watson will try to regain his batting touch at international level after he was recalled to Australia's ODI team against the West Indies.

Recalled in place of Usman Khawaja, Watson is set to take part in the remainder of the series before departing for India as part of the last of three groups of Test players to journey to the subcontinent.

Since returning to the game as a non-bowling batsman following a calf injury, Watson has managed scores of 30 and a duck for Sutherland in Sydney grade cricket, while he also made a scratchy six for New South Wales against Western Australia in a domestic limited overs match at the SCG.

He will now be afforded the chance to bat in the third ODI on the exceedingly friendly Manuka Oval pitch, which gave up almost 650 runs when the West Indians played the Prime Minister's XI in their opening tour fixture last week.

In naming the squad for the ODIS, the national selectors also outlined how the India squad will depart, with Watson, the captain Michael Clarke, Xavier Doherty, Mitchell Starc, Phillip Hughes and Mitchell Johnson to miss the opening warm-up game in Chennai in order to take part in the remainder of the West Indies matches.

David Warner, Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell will fly out to India on February 9, in time to take part in the first tour match, joining the advance party of Jackson Bird, Ed Cowan, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Steve Smith, who are all slated to leave on February 7.

The 19-year-old West Australian spin bowler Ashton Agar was also included in a development capacity, after a trio of striking domestic displays since his debut for the Warriors against New South Wales at Blacktown Oval.

"[Agar] will be in India for the period 9-16 February and will play in the first warm-up fixture," the national selector John Inverarity said. "He will provide ideal practice for the batsmen in the lead-up to that first Test in Chennai.

"Last year we took Mitchell Starc to the West Indies to further his development and this is a similar opportunity for Ashton."

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Sana Mir regrets Pakistan Women's seclusion

For every tourist in Cuttack, a visit to the remains of the Barabati Fort and the Deer Park not very far from it, on the banks of the Mahanadi River, is a must. However, despite being based at walking distance from both, the Pakistan Women's team can't take a trip to either.

Not just because they are focused on making their presence felt at the ongoing Women's World Cup. It has more to do with security reasons, after tension on the Indo-Pak border in the lead-up to the tournament had put a question mark over their participation.

As a result, Pakistan has had to stay apart from the other three teams in their group, who are all put up in the same hotel in Cuttack's twin city of Bhubaneswar; Pakistan stay within the Barabati Stadium premises, at the adjoining Odisha Cricket Association Academy. On the upside, the academy's accommodation boasts facilities as good as any other hotel in town and the team doesn't have to take the one-hour bus ride to and from the stadium every day.

"Everything is good over here, but we wouldn't mind that [bus journey]," Pakistan captain Sana Mir told ESPNcricinfo after their training at the Barabati Stadium on Friday, the eve of their second group tie against New Zealand.

Mir, one of the senior most pros in the team, had a taste of Indian culture during the Asia Cup in 2006. Now, she feels for the "four to five girls who are visiting India for the first time". "It's a shame because the last time when I came to India, my image of India changed a lot," she said. "Despite the historic rivalry between the two countries, the people here were really amazing. And we took a lot of love back to Pakistan. And I just wanted this new generation of Pakistan girls to feel that love and warmth. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, we can't have that."

Moreover, Mir and her team-mates are missing out on savouring the company of the other teams - the discussions about the game and the sampling of new cultures, which usually go with the territory of a big, global sporting event. "Our pool has wonderful teams like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. New Zealanders, especially, have been really friendly always," Mir said. "When we stay at the same hotel, we walk up to senior players and learn a lot from them.

"That has been taken away [this time around]. Hopefully we can sit together with them before the group stage finishes and we head off to the next stage."

In the first half of their tournament opener against formidable Australia on Thursday, Pakistan produced one of their best performances with the ball but then let themselves down with the bat. Mir is doing everything she can to keep their morale up after that mediocre showing with the bat; after the team trained for well over 90 minutes, the Pakistan captain gave them a long pep-talk.

"I just reminded them that it has been a long journey for this Pakistan team to come and play in this World Cup. We have tried hard and showed against Australia that we are capable of stretching any team. We just need to apply ourselves better with the bat and that's what the emphasis would be on against New Zealand tomorrow."

Their subcontinent counterparts Sri Lanka surprising England in Mumbai was encouraging for her team, Mir said: "We have a lot to draw from what they have achieved, it was great to see Sri Lanka beating England yesterday. Their victory and our performance with the ball has shown that the gap between the top four and the bottom four is reducing. We just hope we can narrow it down further going ahead in the tournament."

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'Fit and confident' Powell keen on IPL challenge

"I am confident because of my past performance and my current fitness. It is also about state of mind: 85% of cricket is played in your head." So says Ricardo Powell, the former West Indies batsman, who could possibly be the biggest left-field pick at the 2013 IPL auction.

"I know in terms of competing at the highest level it is just a matter of getting back in the arena. I have played 109 ODIs. I have seen a lot of cricket and I have played against some of the best players in the world and performed against them," Powell said, announcing himself and his credentials, on the eve of the auction. "I am still very fit and right now I am on top of my game in terms of intellect. I see no worries nor am concerned."

Powell played his last international match in 2006. A powerful hitter, Powell is now 34. He has never played any Twenty20 internationals. His reserve price at the auction is a handsome $50,000. All that makes Powell's name, listed in the second set of batsmen on the IPL auction list, a curious one; a stand-out in the crowd of 108 names.

Powell, who resides in Florida, is an itinerant cricketer who splits his time between his native Trinidad and the USA. So what drives him to pit himself against active, fitter and younger players? "I am still young enough to play cricket," Powell said. "What I want to do is play Twenty20 cricket and the IPL is one of the tournaments I would like to play."

This is his second time Powell has entered the auction. In 2011, he had put his name down on the auction list but pulled out after his son Ross, who was then two-years-old, was diagnosed with autism.

Powell keeps himself fit by playing competitive cricket for Queens Park Cricket Club in Trinidad, local clubs in the USA and he recently even played for the International World XI against the Pakistan All Star XI in Karachi.

"Here in the USA, we have a lot of former international players and Asian players who have played at the highest level, and it is mostly T20 tournaments. So there is a lot of competitive cricket played here," he said. "And that is one of the main reasons for me to travel back and forth to the Caribbean, to hone my skills."

Powell, who is also a cricket commentator-cum-analyst for ESPN in the Americas region, decided he could utilise his experience to succeed in Twenty20 cricket. Being wiser, Powell believes, is the one factor that keeps him above his competition. "I am more experienced. I can play a game in the middle with my head. I feel that is what is needed in Twenty20 cricket.

"A lot of people feel T20 cricket is a fast-paced game and you have to do things differently. But to me T20 is a shorter version of 50-overs cricket. A lot of people get carried away and panic in T20, which is not the right thing to do. You have to play each ball and not necessarily the overs. You have 20 overs, 120 balls. And if you look at that way, you have 120 balls and you can easily score 160-170 runs. That is the way I look at it: yes, I have the power and the ability to score quickly but it is also about playing smart. About 10 years ago everything was about hitting the ball out of the park, but now it is different. Twenty20 cricket is about playing smart more than anything else."

As a 20-year-old, Powell emerged as a raging talent after his quickfire 124 against India in the final of the Singapore Challenge in 1999. He had walked in when West Indies, chasing 254, were 67 for 4. But Powell bludgeoned the Indian bowling, with 84 runs coming in boundaries including nine massive sixes.

However, Powell remained inconsistent and over the years his talent waned. In 2006, he played the inaugural Stanford Twenty20 but remained in the shadow of youngsters like Kieron Pollard. The difference between his game then and now, he said, is the enjoyment factor: "I am enjoying playing cricket. That is the important thing. When I walked away from cricket in 2006, I was not enjoying it. Now I am very relaxed and focused in terms of what I want to do. And I have options."

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Pakistan angry over Hot Spot decisions

Pakistan were left privately seething as four incidents involving Hot Spot technology went against them during a mauling by South Africa in the first Test at the Wanderers.

Although none of the match participants or team administrators would comment on the technology, the Pakistan manager and coach were seen in animated discussion with the third umpire after the day's play. Dav Whatmore later told the media: "Any comments will be done in the right channels."

Whatmore was visibly upset after Misbah-ul-Haq was given out on review in the morning session. Jacques Kallis appealed for a catch at the wicket which was turned down on-field but South Africa referred. The camera showed only a faint mark which disappeared quickly and the decision was then overturned by the TV umpire Steve Davis. Misbah also showed his annoyance as he walked off.

Pakistan's anger was heightened because a similar decision against the South Africa batsman, Faf du Plessis, was upheld as 'not out' yesterday. Pakistan reviewed an appeal for caught behind by Rahat Ali against du Plessis when he was on 21 and given 'not out' by Billy Bowden. Despite a faint mark on Hot Spot, the decision was upheld.

Later on, an appeal for caught behind against AB de Villiers resulted in the same decision. De Villiers indicated that he padded the ball away but even that did not show up on the Hot Spot camera.

The final incident took place when de Villiers survived again on review in the second innings. He was given out lbw to Saeed Ajmal and immediately gestured to his bat to indicated he had hit the ball. Although the Hot Spot camera did not show an edge, the decision was overturned and de Villiers continued batting.

At the post-day press conference Whatmore was reluctant to talk about Hot Spot. "I wouldn't like to comment on that because it is part and parcel of umpiring decisions but any comments will be done in the right channels," he said.

Neither did he use the issue to play down the total dominance of South Africa's pace attack, led by Dale Steyn, who finished with 6 for 8. "I've never seen two hours of relentless, incredible pace bowling such as I have witnessed today," he said.

SuperSport's producer Louwrens Rensburg told ESPNcricinfo that the Hot Spot cameras were in perfect working condition. He added that in the current "atmospheric conditions," which included heat and bright sunshine faint edges would only show up slightly.

A match official confirmed early in the day that the umpires and match referee, Jeff Crowe, were satisfied with the technology available to them.

Sky TV promoted more sensitive Hot Spot cameras for South Africa's series in England last summer that they claimed were more reliable.

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How the franchises could play it at the IPL auction

What: 2013 IPL auction
When: February 3, Sunday, 1100 IST
Where: Chennai

What to expect

The IPL auction rules could undergo an overhaul from the 2014 edition and the existing contracts for all players will end after the current season. Franchises would therefore view this auction only in terms of filling certain pressing gaps to meet their requirements for this season.

Quite a few teams have more than $5 million left of their $12.5 million purse coming into Sunday's auction, and can be expected to be involved in a tug of war for at least a couple of players. "Some teams are sitting with $6-7 million," a franchise official said. "So expect franchises to get into a crazy bidding for a player if they think it is fine, as it is just a one-year contract." This auction, however, may not see as many millions being thrown around as the previous ones.

Hot buys

Only two players, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting, have the maximum reserve price this year, of $400,000. While Ponting retired from internationals last year, Clarke, who had a prolific 2012, is expected to be chased by franchises who need a big player and captain. If teams like SunRisers Hyderabad or Pune Warriors need a new captain and are not able to buy Clarke, they will have to go for Ponting who scored 236 runs in the Big Bash League at an average of 39.33 and strike rate of 121, including two half-centuries.

Among the seven Indian players is Abhishek Nayar, with a reserve price of $100,000, who scored 966 runs in the Ranji Trophy this season. He would be on the list of several buyers who do not want to spend much on a player for a single season. Nayar, an in-form domestic allrounder, would give RP Singh, who had a poor outing in IPL 2012, a run for his money.

T20 specialist

Dirk Nannes has 37 wickets in domestic T20 tournaments in the last 12 months, at an average of 24.43. Priced at $200,000, he could be the main pick for a franchise looking for an overseas fast bowler with enough money in the bag.

Dark horse

Rilee Rossouw, a 23-year-old uncapped South Africa batsman, priced at only $20,000. With the experience of 36 domestic T20s and 781 runs behind him, Rossouw could offer a franchise what nobody else can for that amount of money.

Veteran pick

The oldest player, aged 38 is Herschelle Gibbs. Released by Mumbai Indians recently, Gibbs isn't the batsman he used to be even though he has played in T20 leagues in South Africa, England, Bangladesh, India and Australia in the last one year.

Unlikely buys

Two names that catch the eye in the auction list are Ricardo Powell and Wasim Jaffer. Powell, 34, played two T20s for the International World XI against Pakistan All Star XI in October, scoring 3 and 5. Jaffer has been concentrating on first-class matches, being a part of Mumbai's victorious Ranji side recently.

How the franchises could play it

SunRisers Hyderabad have $7 million left to spend on the 2013 squad and can buy eight more Indian and five overseas players. They are expected to go all out for Michael Clarke to ease some pressure off their captain and lead batsman Kumar Sangakkara, who is currently injured. Also on their injured list is JP Duminy, increasing their need for a strong top-order batsman-cum-mentor. Hello Ricky Ponting. They may also need a spinner to assist Amit Mishra and have the options of Rangana Herath ($100,000), Johan Botha ($300,000) and Ajantha Mendis ($50,000) since they have the money.

Since Sachin Tendulkar is Mumbai Indians' new captain, they can now spend $2.3 million on specialist players instead of a new captain. They would look to beef up their top order, which failed to impress last season. Phillip Hughes, at $100,000, may suit their needs after scoring two ODI hundreds against Sri Lanka but Jesse Ryder has been scoring heavily in New Zealand's domestic season too. The new Anil Kumble-John Wright combination could throw up some new strategies.

Stephen Fleming, the coach, said on Friday they would not be targeting overseas players and instead focus on the "seam bowling department, especially local bowlers". They possess Ben Hilfenhaus, Albie Morkel, Nuwan Kulasekara and Dwayne Bravo - all overseas bowlers. Their local options lie in RP Singh (released by Mumbai Indians), Sudeep Tyagi, Manpreet Gony, Pankaj Singh and Jaydev Unadkat.

Delhi Daredevils have the shallowest pockets with only $1.4 million left of their purse. To add to that, their pacers Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Irfan Pathan are all injured. So expect some cheaply priced local bowlers, such as Jaydev Unadkat, going their way. Allrounder Abhishek Nayar could be on their radar as they will lose Kevin Pietersen in the second half of the tournament and will not be able to accommodate Mahela Jayawardene, David Warner and Ross Taylor together.

Kolkata Knight Riders, the defending champions, are expected to be less aggressive in their bidding compared to last two years, when they were the fastest off the blocks as soon as the auction bell rang. "We might end up being a spectator," a Knight Riders official said. They do not have much to improve on from last year, except maybe an allrounder in the form of Abhishek Nayar or Thisara Perera.

Rajasthan Royals have $7.7 million to spend and seven Indian and four overseas slots to fill. They have never splurged and having included Samuel Badree after releasing Johan Botha, won't be too unhappy with their current line-up. Unless Paddy Upton suggests otherwise.

Kings XI Punjab may opt for a handy seam bowler to suit the conditions in Mohali. $6.9 million may allow them to opt for Vernon Philander or an RP Singh. A reserve wicketkeeper in Quinton de Kock ($20,000) might be a good try for one season.

Pune Warriors will go in for a new captain after releasing Sourav Ganguly, as Yuvraj Singh is unlikely to lead the side. Ricky Ponting would be a similar batsman-cum-mentor, who could revive the fortunes of the franchise.

Royal Challengers Bangalore retained their core attack but left out as many as 12 players in November. Uncertainty over Zaheer Khan's fitness may make them buy a fast bowler to accompany Vinay Kumar.

For the full list of players who will be auctioned on Sunday, click here.

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Franchise coaches taste national set-up

While the South African players did their warm-ups on the first morning of the Wanderers Test against Pakistan, someone not usually involved at national level was keeping an eye on them. The Titans' coach Matthew Maynard observed proceedings as part of a new program which aims to involve franchise officials in the national team.

All six local coaches will be invited to spend time with the national team during the series against Pakistan as part of an information sharing exercise. During their time the coaches will attend training sessions, go to team meetings and in Maynard's case, stay around for some of the first day's play.

With three of South Africa's franchise coaches - Paul Adams of the Cobras, Geoffrey Toyana of the Lions and Lance Klusener of the Dolphins - in their first season in the job, the national management is also hopeful that involving the domestic coaches will make the transition from franchise to international cricket smooth for players.

"We wanted to give our franchise coaches the opportunity to experience how things work at international level," Gary Kirsten said. "This is about creating synergy between the international and domestic platforms, and making sure information sharing happens continuously so that the move from domestic cricket for the players is as smooth as possible.

"It's also an opportunity for the coaches to see how things operate at this level. The coaching landscape is always changing and moving and it is important from our point of view to touch base with the next tier and to share information and ideas."

Maynard is not a stranger to the international coaching scene. He was the England assistant under Duncan Fletcher but has not been with a national team since 2007. He said he valued the time given to him by Kirsten and has learnt things to take back to the Titans.

"It was a great experience for me to see the environment that Gary and Graeme have created around the team. It makes it unsurprising that they have been so successful over a good period of time. I picked up a good number of things in the way they prepare and how the environment operates.

"It was great to see the intensity from the senior players during their practice sessions. Some of the drills are nice and simple, they aren't complicated but they are expected to be done with great precision and that is the attention to detail Gary brings to the set-up."

Kirsten's desire to expand the coaching set-up was also evident when he handed over reins of the Twenty20 squad to his assistant Russell Domingo. Although Kirsten remains in charge of the team and takes calls on selections, Domingo is the head coach in the shortest format.

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Sana Mir wants improvement in shot selection

After the uncertainty surrounding their participation in the tournament and the venue of their matches, Pakistan began their Women's World Cup campaign promisingly, but it did not last. They restricted Australia to 175 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, but their batsmen did not make it even halfway to the target.

Despite the World Cup being held in India, the favourites to win are defending champions England, New Zealand and Australia. While India have the underdog billing, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are rank outsiders. While Sri Lanka upset England to state they are not here to make up the numbers, Pakistan started positively but their challenge fizzled out against Australia's experience and tactics.

Neither captain expected a high-scoring affair on a low and slow wicket, and when Pakistan had reduced Australia to 99 for 6 in the 29th over, they would have been hoping for a win against the odds. The tail, however, came to Australia's rescue, as it does consistently. Sarah Coyte's unbeaten 35 at No. 9 ensured Australia made it past 170.

"Our team bats from 1 to 11. We are quite confident about that," Jodie Fields, Australia's captain, said. "As Sarah came out and had a partnership lower down the order, just proves that our batting depth is great. I knew that if we got closer to 175, we could bowl to it."

Once they got to the desired total, Australia's all-round bowling performance helped them win without much difficulty. While the Australian bowlers stuck to their plan of "bowling straight", Pakistan's batters played too many rash strokes.

"It was a case of poor shot selection from our batters," the Pakistan captain Sana Mir said. "After we lost early wickets, I would say when I got out, I think that was the turning point. We have to be more disciplined, we have to be responsible, because we couldn't capitalise on all the hard work done by the bowlers.

"The pitch was keeping low, no doubt about that. But there is no excuse for this kind of performance [with the bat]. I hold myself responsible."

Mir, however, took positives from her team's bowling and fielding effort, which produced in four run-outs. "I think this has been our best bowling performance till date against a top opponent like Australia," she said. "The performance we produced with the ball and in the field is really encouraging. If we can restrict Australia, we can restrict any team ... be it New Zealand or any other."

While Australia will need to improve their batting against South Africa at the DRIEMS Ground on Sunday, Pakistan will hope to challenge New Zealand at the Barabati. And it being a Sunday, the Odisha Cricket Association will hope the security personnel don't outnumber the spectators in the stands, like they did today.

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