Follow UsSmriti Mandhana, who was standing in for Harmanpreet Kaur as the captain of the Indian team accepted that they were chasing improvement in Net Run Rate (NRR). However, she was also quick to negate any disappointment on the match being close and India just managing to scrape through for a win.
“We could have done with a better start with the bat, but we will take this. We were thinking about it but Shafali and I weren't able to time it well. So we didn't want to get to a place where we were chasing the game, but NRR is surely in our heads,” Mandhana said on October 6 (Sunday) during the post-match presentation ceremony of their group stage match against Pakistan in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Harman, who scored 29 to steer India towards the chase, got injured just when India needed two more runs to finish the game and had to retire hurt. Informing about her condition, the stand-in skipper said, “Too soon to say anything, the medics are looking at it. Hopefully, she is alright.”
Mandhana praised her bowlers and hoped that after the first loss, they could now carry this momentum into their remaining two matches. “As a bowling unit, we were very disciplined and in the field, we were good too. This game will give us some momentum and hopefully, we can keep going in this tournament.”
Fatima Sana, the Pakistan captain, was a livewire on the field. With the bat or the ball in hand, she always tried to keep the game moving for the team. Despite that, Pakistan ended up on the losing side.
However, Sana, who had figures of 2/23 in her four overs and scored 13 off eight balls, conceded that with the bat, they were found lacking.
“We weren't up to the mark with the bat. We were at least 10-15 runs short. Hopefully, in the next match, we can do well. I enjoyed playing against the Indians, and enjoyed my time here.”
India will be up against Sri Lanka in their next match on October 9, while Pakistan will take on Australia on October 11.
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