Following the team’s 21 runs loss against Australia in the 3rd T20I at the Brabourne Stadium, India’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur rued the side’s inability to put pressure on the opposition through singles and doubles.
In pursuit of 173, India could only many 151 in their stipulated 20 overs. India got off to a poor start as they made only 41 in the powerplay and also lost vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues cheaply. Mandhana’s was a painful stay at the crease as she made only one run in ten deliveries.
India, though, did manage to get a hold on the situation later on, with Shafali Verma and Kaur building an alliance worth 73 runs. However, Verma and Kaur were both dismissed when they tried to step on the accelerator and that didn’t help the team’s cause.
WICKET !!
Shafali Verma goes scoring 52 Runs.
India need 66 in 36 Balls now. #INDvAUS #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/2zmLZUSfwP
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 14, 2022
“Shafali or myself – one of us wanted to stay till the end, but we had to hit boundaries and sometimes you lose wickets when you play like that. We have a deep batting line-up now so it’s not like we have to keep thinking about someone playing till the end”, said Kaur at the post-match presentation, in acknowledgment of the fact that India lost wickets at the wrong time.
The abundance of dot balls in India’s innings lifted the required run rate and exerted immense pressure on India’s batters. A cameo by Deepti Sharma was not enough to overturn the damage done because of the dot balls.
Australia now lead the series 2-1 with two games to be played. The fourth and fifth T20Is will be played at the same venue on December 17 and December 20.
Australia take 2-1 lead in the series after beating India by 21 Runs in 3rd T20I#INDvAUS #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/qU00ZPms7X
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 14, 2022
India will look to address the inconsistency in their batting in the following games which are now must-win encounters for the hosts. India did put up an improved show in the bowling front as the team was able to take 8 wickets in the 3rd T20I after taking just two wickets in the first two games but there are still many areas that require work. With the World Cup approaching, India must make full use of the two games and the opposition can’t get better.
