India captain Harmanpreet Kaur (PTI Image)
Harmanpreet Kaur said it was a new bowling line-up and they need such games heading into next year’s T20 World Cup.
India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur admitted that the bowling unit failed to execute their plans properly as they suffered a 38-run defeat to England in the series opener at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The Indian women’s cricket team was not up to the mark especially in the bowling and fielding department as England posted a mammoth 197/6 in 20 overs.
Renuka Thakur was the only saving grace in the Indian bowling line-up as she claimed three wickets for 27 runs while others got hammered all around the park by Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt.
India decided to give maiden international caps to Shreyanka Patil and Sakia Ishaque, they claimed three wickets collectively but both leaked runs with an economy rate of over 9.5.
In reply, India could manage just 159 for six to go down by 38 runs in the first game.
“We didn’t follow our plans. They will learn quickly and we need these kinda games so that we can learn from our mistakes before the T20 World Cup. I know it’s a tough game. We had slight change in bowling department so we will come back stronger,” said Harmanpreet after the match.
In the batting department, opener Shafali Verma fought a lone battle with her 52-run knock as the others failed to convert the starts into big scores. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur (26) and Richa Ghosh (21) failed to convert their starts as India failed to mount a serious challenge to the big target.
“We just needed to back ourselves, we were looking for good start. After a couple of wickets, we had control over the game but the last ten overs didn’t quite go to plan.
“We were not upto the mark and we need to discuss positives and come up with a positive attitude in the next game.”
India also put up a shoddy effort on the field with multiple fielding lapses only mounting their agony. Meanwhile, England did not make glaring mistakes like India did in the first half in the field, with the visitors’ fielding in the deep being top-notch and their players taking most of the chances that came their way.
“I was expecting good fielding, but when you are away from international game, pressure could get to you,” the skipper said.
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