No regrets, decision was for team: Harmanpreet on Mithali's omission
The decision to drop a player of Mithali Raj's caliber backfired during India's humiliating semi-final loss to England in the World T20 but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said that she has "no regrets" as it was the decision taken keeping team's interests in mind. At the toss, Harmanpreet said, "It's not about not selecting Mithali, it's about keeping a winning combination," defending the decision.
'I'm proud of the way my girls played through tournament'
Indian batting collapsed as they managed only 112 with eight wickets falling for 24 runs as the visibly upset veteran's blank stare sitting in the dugout said it all. When former England captain Nasser Hussain and former Indian Test-player Sanjay Manjrekar questioned Harmanpreet on the decision on air, she said, "I'm proud of the way my girls played through the tournament."
Sometimes have to change game according to wicket: Harmanpreet
Mithali's strike-rate was always an issue but considering that Taniya Bhatia hasn't been able to accelerate and Veda Krishnamurthy is in poor form, the decision to drop a seasoned campaigner boomeranged on India. "This is a learning for us. Sometimes you have to change your game according to the wicket. It was not an easy total to chase," the 29-year-old all-rounder explained.
Indian team needs to work on mental strength, says Harmanpreet
Explaining further, Harmanpreet said, "England bowled really well, and our bowlers too. We stretched the match till the 18th over." She did admit that mental strength in big games is an issue and her young team needs to garner a bit more of it. "If we can work on how to play under pressure, it'll change how we play these games," she added.
England captain praised her spinners for the victory
England captain Heather Knight said that she was worried during Powerplay overs when Smriti Mandhana, a left-handed cricketer, had gone on the offensive but lauded her spinner Kirstie Gordon and Sophie Ecclestone for bringing them back in the game. "The match got away from us a bit in the Powerplay but the spinners bowled really well to bring us back," she said.
Final against Australia going to be a great game: Knight
Knight said that she wasn't concerned about the form of her top players like Tammy Beaumont and Dani Wyatt because conditions for batting was challenging in St Lucia. "No worries at all about the form of Beaumont and Wyatt. The final (against Australia) is going to be a great game, hopefully, we'll have a brilliant game of cricket," said the England captain.
