‘We didn’t have any second answer,’ says Harmanpreet after crushing defeat to SA

Johannesburg, April 23: India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said that the South African batters did not give them ‘a single chance to come back in the game’ even though the team put up a formidable target of 193 after their heavy defeat in the third T20I of the five-match series.
The Women in Blue suffered their third consecutive loss in the series as the hosts took an unassailable 3-0 lead.
India finished at 192/4 riding on some brilliant hitting by Kaur (66) and opener Shafali Verma (64). After a 68-run opening stand with Mandhana, Shafali joined hands with the captain as the duo put up a 73-run stand for the third wicket. However, the target seemed too little for the Proteas, who were powered to a humongous victory courtesy of skipper Laura Wolvaardt’s record 115-run knock.
“We were really looking at the score and that wasn’t that bad. We would have put a really decent total on the board, but I think we should give credit to the South Africa batters the way they batted, and I think they didn’t give us a single chance to come back in the game, even though a few chances we missed out, but I still feel that the way they were batting, I know we didn’t have any second answer for them,” Kaur said after the match.
While the batters did a tremendous job, India’s bowling unit failed to fire as Shreyanka Patil finished as the lone wicket-taker, ending with figures of 1-30 in three overs. Wolvaardt and Sune Luus put up a massive 183-run opening partnership to carry their team to a win and expose the Indian bowling attack’s weaknesses.
Kaur admitted that the visitors’ bowling wasn’t ‘up to the mark’ as she stated, “And when we looked at the bowling, I think it didn’t go as well as we had hoped it would. I think we were definitely looking a few wickets in the powerplay. I think that will always set the momentum for the game. But unfortunately, as I mentioned, for six overs, they were quite expensive. I think the bowling really really needed to take, I know batting didn’t work in the first two games, but bowling in the same way, we are not upto the mark.”
With the Women’s T20 World Cup just weeks away, the ODI World Cup-winning skipper believes that the team has a lot to learn and they need to ‘get better’ in the forthcoming games, having begun their preparations for the marquee global event.
“I think as a bowling group, we really need to work hard if we have to keep doing well in the future, but I think it’s a lot of learning for us and definitely we will learn and try to get better in the next games,” she expressed.
Amid severe criticism regarding her form, Harmanpreet unleashed the beat within and notched up a brilliant 66 off 38 deliveries, hitting seven fours and three sixes and striking at 173.68. Having regained form and confidence, the 37-year-old said that she was happy to contribute to the team ‘when it was needed the most.’ (IANS)