India, Oct. 10 -- India captain Harmanpreet Kaur did not mince words after her side suffered a narrow three-wicket defeat to South Africa in a thrilling group stage match of the Women's World Cup at the ACA-VDCA Stadium on Thursday, placing the blame squarely on her side's top-order batting collapse.

India, who were in deep trouble at 102 for 6, managed to post a competitive total of 251 thanks to a stunning counter-attacking knock from wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh. The 21-year-old blazed her way to a 77-ball 94, smashing 11 boundaries and five sixes while batting at No. 8, single-handedly reviving India's innings.

However, her heroics were not enough as South Africa chased down the target with five balls to spare, led by a blisterin...