By Trisha Ghosal in Indore
India lost their third consecutive game at the ICC Women’s World Cup. Chasing 289, Smriti Mandhana (88), Harmanpreet Kaur (70) and Deepti Sharma (50) all got set, but none stayed till the end to see the team through. After the game, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana addressed the media. Here are the excerpts from the press conference.
On India’s failure to finish games
“I think if you see our games, especially the last three, we haven’t really finished well in the last five overs,” Mandhana said. “We lost five or six wickets in that phase, and that’s where the difference came. The job at the end is never easy — trying to get seven an over is tough. But I wouldn’t say the lower-order hasn’t done their job. In the first two or three matches, we actually finished well — like against South Africa, we got 90-plus runs in the last 10 overs.”
She added, “It’s about us, the experienced players, putting our hands up and guiding the younger group. Those last overs are the toughest phase in one-day cricket, and that’s where we have to be smarter.”
On team balance and dropping Jemimah Rodrigues
Asked if India’s six-bowler strategy backfired, Mandhana was candid. “In the last two matches, we did feel that five bowling options weren’t enough, especially on flat tracks. If one bowler has a bad day, it really costs us. We aren’t privileged enough to have batters who can bowl a few overs, which a lot of other teams have.
“It was definitely a very tough call to drop a player like Jemi, but sometimes you have to make those decisions to get the balance right. It’s not like this is permanent — we’ll see how the wicket plays and decide accordingly.”
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On her dismissal and shot selection
Mandhana admitted her own mistake. “Yeah, I thought I could take her on — I was trying to hit over cover and missed. Maybe that shot wasn’t needed. I should’ve been more patient. I was telling myself not to play alien shots, but emotions took over. The shot selection should have been better, and I’ll take responsibility because the collapse started with me.”
On Deepti Sharma’s 150th ODI wicket and India’s mindset ahead
“Deepti’s been brilliant — it’s become a habit for her to break records every match,” she smiled. “Her all-round ability is amazing and she’s been key for us. The next game against New Zealand is a virtual quarter-final. We all know what’s at stake. But as I said, you don’t play cricket to have easy days. We’ll take the learnings, move on, and come back stronger.”
Also Read: Once we got Smriti, things flipped quickly: Heather Knight