Follow UsSenior batter Smriti Mandhana admitted that her dismissal triggered India’s collapse in their four-run defeat to England Women in Indore during the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup clash on October 19 (Sunday).
Chasing 289 on a good batting surface, India were in control at 167/2 in 30.1 overs when captain Harmanpreet Kaur (70 off 70) fell to Nat Sciver-Brunt. Mandhana, well set at the other end, was expected to guide the chase, but the left-hander departed in the 42nd over while attempting an aerial stroke against left-arm spinner Linsey Smith.
Mandhana scored 88 off 94 deliveries and had put on a 67-run fourth-wicket stand with Deepti Sharma, who was already scoring freely. With India needing only 52 runs from the final seven overs, her dismissal at long-off opened the door for England.
"I was trying to aim more over covers. I mistimed that shot. I just needed to be more patient because throughout the innings I was trying to tell myself to be patient and not to play aerial shots. But maybe the emotions took over for that one, which never helps in cricket,” said Mandhana, as reported by Cricbuzz.
"Especially it (the collapse) started from me so I will take it on me that the shot selection should have been better. We just needed six per over. Maybe we should have taken the game deeper. So yeah I mean I'll take it from myself because the collapse started from me."
Deepti (50 off 57) also couldn’t stay till the end and was dismissed by Sophie Ecclestone in the 47th over. With 27 needed off 18 balls and none of the set senior batters left, India faltered despite having Richa Ghosh, Amanjot Kaur and Sneh Rana - all of whom have contributed with the bat so far in the tournament.
"I think everyone's shot selections at that time - we could have done better with our short selections...but walking back for sure, I mean, I was pretty confident that we'll be able to get the win, but I mean, it's cricket, you can't ever think too ahead,” added Mandhana.
"I wouldn't say that it's only dependent on her (Richa), we just needed 6.5 per over. It's not like we needed 9 per over that the finishing part was a lot to ask but we've seen Aman (Amanjot) do that in WPL and Sneh has been brilliant in the last 4-5 overs with a bat for us in the first 3-4 matches. We'll all take it in like; we'll take it on ourselves that we could have actually done better in the last six odd overs."
Mandhana also addressed the decision to drop Jemimah Rodrigues for seamer Renuka Singh Thakur, calling it a tactical choice based on balance. "In the last two matches for sure we thought that five bowling options are not good enough...we are not privileged enough to have our batters who could bowl few overs, which a lot of other teams can do that. So, yeah, for sure on a flatter track, we thought that five bowling options, especially if one bowler has a bad day, it really costs us a lot.
"It was definitely a very tough call to drop a player like Jemi. But yeah, sometimes you need to do those sort of things in terms of getting the balance right. But yeah, again, it's not like this is going to be there - we'll have to see how the situation is, how the wicket will play and then we'll take a call."
After starting the tournament with two wins, India have now lost three in a row. They must beat New Zealand on October 23 and Bangladesh on October 26 to qualify for the semifinals. With Australia, South Africa, and England having sealed their spots, India and New Zealand are battling for the last remaining slot.
"In cricket, nothing comes easy. You don't play cricket to have easy days. We'll all take this in our strides. We all know where we could have gotten done better, where we went wrong. We all know all of those things and if you're playing a sport, you're meant to have good days and bad days. It's about how you take those bad days and move on and see how we can get the best in terms of against New Zealand,” concluded Mandhana.