India’s Women’s World Cup campaign suffered another setback on Sunday as they went down to England by four runs in Indore. Despite being in a commanding position during the chase, a late batting collapse cost India the game and left them in a precarious spot in the tournament standings.
Reflecting on the defeat, Mandhana admitted her shot selection at a crucial stage could have been smarter and accepted personal responsibility for the collapse. Speaking at the post-match press conference, she said, “Yeah, for sure. I mean, we collapsed, and everyone saw that. I think our shot selections at that stage could have been better. Especially since it started with me, I take responsibility for that; my shot selection should have been smarter. We just needed six runs per over, and maybe we should have tried to take the game deeper. So, yeah, I’ll take it on myself because the collapse started from me,” .
Despite the setback, Mandhana remained optimistic and said the team would refocus on their next encounter against New Zealand on October 23 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.
She added, “It's too soon now that we've had a get-together. But in cricket, nothing comes easy. For sure, the next match would be the virtual quarter-final in terms of getting into the top four. But yeah, you don't play cricket to have easy days. We'll all take this in our strides,”.
India on the brink of elimination from the World Cup
The defeat marked India’s third consecutive loss, leaving them fourth on the points table with upcoming matches against New Zealand and Bangladesh. England, on the other hand, became the third team after Australia and South Africa to book a place in the semi-finals.
Speaking of the match, chasing a stiff target of 289, India looked well on course when Smriti Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur stitched together a 125-run partnership for the third wicket. The left-handed Mandhana was leading the charge with a fluent 88 before she fell attempting to loft left-arm spinner Linsey Smith down the ground. Her dismissal triggered a collapse that saw India fall short, despite needing only 55 runs from the last 52 balls.
