Thiruvananthapuram: India registered a comprehensive 30-run win over Sri Lanka in the fourth women’s T20I here on Sunday but captain Harmanpreet Kaur admitted that she had to tell her bowlers to rush with their overs towards the end in order to avoid slow over-rate charges.
Harmanpreet was seen worked up towards the end while instructing her teammates towards the end of Sri Lanka’s innings in the second half of the game.
Asked about it at the post-match presentation, she said, “We were getting short in time and I wanted everyone be on time. I didn’t want three fielders outside the in-field. I try to improve from my mistakes.” The home side rode on Smriti Mandhana (80) and Shafali Verma’s (79) record partnership followed by spinner Vaishnavi Sharma’s impressive 2/24 to beat Sri Lanka and take a 4-0 lead in the five-match series.
“(We) should give credit to Shafali and Smriti and then me and Richa finished well.” With the five-match series already in the pocket, Harmanpreet indicated that more changes could be brought in for the final T20I here on Tuesday.
“We thought we will give chance to Harleen (Deol), but (given) how it went (today), we sent (in) Richa early. Smriti and Shafali didn’t let Harleen bat.” Adjudged the Player of the Match, Mandhana said she struggled to switch gears for T20I format in the first three matches, having played a lot of ODI cricket in the last six months.
“After playing a lot of ODI cricket this year, it was tough get into T20 cricket. It was mentally a little different. (I am) happy that I contributed better today. The plan was similar today as well, no major changes. I had some game plans against them and I practiced a lot,” Mandhana said.
On batting with Shafali, she said, “To watch Shafali bat at the other end is always a treat to the eyes. She does the majority of the hitting in the powerplay. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. She has matured a lot. In the last one year, there is a different kind of team building, everyone is celebrating everyone’s success.” Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu took the positives despite the loss, saying her team produced an improved batting show, reaching 191 for 6 in 20 overs.
“At least we have improved in our batting. But still we need to improve especially in power-hitting.
“They (India) batted really well. Our bowlers didn’t bowl well, but there are lots of youngsters in our team. They have learnt a lot of things because they are playing (against) the best team in the world.” On Indian spinner Vaishnavi Sharma, Athapaththu said, “She is bowling very well. I feel she has improved a lot. She bowls accordingly to plan, especially in the middle.”
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