Manchester: India captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Sunday rued missing opportunities in the field which played a huge role in her team’s crushing six-wicket defeat against South Africa in Women’s T20 World Cup Group A clash here.
Radha Yadav spilled two regulation chances at long on against Marizanne Kapp, who smacked an unbeaten 81 off 45 balls (7 fours, 4 sixes) to guide South Africa to an important win.
“We got a couple of chances in between but couldn’t take those chances,” Harmanpreet, who became the first-ever cricketer both men’s and women’s to play 200 T20Is, told the broadcaster after the match.
“I think we still have two, three more days, and we will sit and rethink what we have to do, and accordingly we will pick the eleven,” said Harmanpreet at the conclusion of the game.
She praised the efforts of young spinners Sree Charani and Shafali Verma, who were amongst the wicket-takers for India. “I think Shree Charani and Shafali bowled really well. They were creating challenges, but unfortunately other bowlers didn’t support them,” noted Harmanpreet.
Harmanpreet acknowledged the importance of Marizanne hitting a match‑winning 81 not out. “She was brilliant today. She took the game away from us, but again I think she gave us two crucial chances, but unfortunately we didn’t take that. But I think at this level when you miss those chances, nobody’s going to, you know, give you anything easily. And I think those were the crucial moments and they took the game away from us.”
On using spinners extensively, Harmanpreet explained, “If you’re bowling, the ball was a little bit turning. If you use your finger spinners really well, then I think Shafali and Sree Charani did really well. And other spinners need to think about, like, how we have to bowl, especially on these kind of wickets.”
Reflecting on her landmark 200th T20I and the learnings picked along the way, Harmanpreet said, “A lot of learning, a lot of, you know, positive moments, a lot of these kind of moments where you have to stay strong and stay positive and keep thinking about the game.
“This is what the game has taught me. And I think this is, now this is the time to stay positive and keep thinking about what you need to do in the upcoming games. And I think this is the time for me to talk to my teammates, give them strength, give them positive talks. And hopefully we will come up as a group really well in the next two games.”
