India’s tour of England got underway on the 10th of September with the 1st of three-match T20I series. The opener saw England enjoy a clinical outing on all 3; batting, bowling and fielding front which powered the side to a dominating win.
The 2nd game of the 3-match T20I series is scheduled for the 13th of September at the Derby County Ground and below we bring to you, Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana’s pre-game presser.
On having been outclassed on all 3 aspects of the game, Smriti Mandhana said, “We were disappointed after the first game. We need to match the standards of what we have achieved in the past.”
During India’s pre-series press conference, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur stressed on the team to have a psychologist and Smriti Mandhana too expressed similar feelings in stating, “When we had a psychologist with us during the World Cup and it helped a lot for many players. Harman made a great point.”
Harmanpreet Kaur after India’s defeat didn’t hold back in sounding clear that the game was playing under poor conditions. Smriti Mandhana on the same added, “The condition was not that good to play. There were wet patches over the ground. But we won’t use it as an excuse in this series.”
India yet again suffered a batting collapse and it’s been the same script for quite a while now with there being an odd break in between. On India’s batting, Smriti Mandhana said, “We need to improve our batting from 12th and 18th overs. We need to give some time to Hemlatha and Kiran. We are ready for the second match.”
It’s been a very long road with not a lot of rest that Smriti Mandhana has been on and at the same, she said, “I have been on the road for a while. I have been doing this post-World Cup with domestic and international tournaments. I cannot be complaining about having so much cricket. My mother is here in England and my teammates have helped a lot.”
Smriti Mandhana at the Old Trafford, not for cricket, but to watch a ⚽ Football Match with her mom 😀 pic.twitter.com/Owk93dffGJ
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) September 8, 2022
Indian pace veteran, Jhulan Goswami who’s scheduled to play her farewell game during the second ODI leg of the series will be a big miss for Indians in the lineup. Smriti on the same said, “Jhulan Goswami has been such an important part of the team. She is an irreplaceable part of the team. She has supported me throughout my career. Jhulu di, the person, has been the most important for me. It’s going to be a mixed series for us.”
The upcoming 8th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) so far has only seen 3 Indian players feature on the list which doesn’t see Smriti Mandhana as the regular feature among the mix. She on the same said, “I know we are playing a lot of cricket, so I will think about playing in the WBBL.”
Fielding on a not-so-good surface, Radha Yadav seemed to have injured her shoulder during a fielding attempt and Smriti Mandhana shared an update on Radha Yadav stating, “The medical team is still examining Radha Yadav’s condition.”
India is scheduled to play the 2nd T20I against England women on 13th September. The match will start at 11.00 PM IST.
