Following her side’s 11-run loss to England in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Group 2 match, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said that her side lost momentum in middle overs while bowling, leaked runs and failed to get the right run rate with the bat.
England registered an 11-run win against India keeping a clean sheet against the side at the T20 World Cups, in a Group B clash at St George’s Park on Saturday.
“We started really well but in the middle overs, we did not bowl according to plan and gave away too many runs. That is where we lost the momentum. We were doing well with the bat but did not get the run rate that we were looking for and that is why we lost wickets,” said Harmanpreet in a post-match presentation.
She also praised Renuka Thakur for her spell. Renuka had taken a five-wicket haul.
“Whenever she is (Renuka) bowling we are looking for wickets and she is someone who enjoys her spell, good to see her doing so well,” said Harmanpreet.
Coming to the match, put to bat first by India, a fiery powerplay spell by Renuka reduced England to 29/3.
Knocks from Nat Sciver Brunt (50 off 42 balls), wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones (40 off 27 balls) and skipper Heather Knight (28 off 23 balls) helped England recover and put up a fighting total of 151/7 on the board.
Renuka was top-notch with the ball, taking 5/15 in her four overs. Shikha Pandey and Deepti Sharma took a wicket each as well.
Chasing 152, India was not off to a very good start. They were down to 62/3 in their 10.2 overs. Smriti Mandhana (52 off 47 balls) and wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh (47* off 34 balls) tried to take India across the line, but failed to tackle England’s bowlers.
Sarah Glenn was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2/27 in four overs. Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Bell took one wicket each.
With this win, England is at the top of Group two with three wins in three matches and six points. India is at the second position with two wins in three matches and a total of four points.
Nat-Sciver won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for her fifty.
Brief Score: India 140/5 (Smriti Mandhana 52, Richa Ghosh 47*; Sarah Glenn 2-27) vs England 151/7 (Nat Sciver Brunt 50, Amy Jones 40; Renuka Singh 5-15). (ANI)
