The West Indies chased down the target with ease after India set the visitors a 151-run target in the first of the three-match T20 series in Vijayawada. While captain Harmanpreet Kaur had helped set the opposition a competitive target with an unbeaten 68 after coming in to bat at 28 for two, West Indies skipper scripted the chase with a 51-ball 90.
Asked if India were a few runs short in setting a stiff target, Harmanpreet replied affirmatively. “When Veda (Krishnamurthy) and I were batting, we had a target of about 180 our mind. But we slowed down a bit after the loss of Veda's wicket. We fell about 30-35 runs short and that cost us in the end. Their batting strength is very good. They can easily clear the boundaries. So, keeping that in mind, I had told the bowlers that we are about 30 shorts short so we need to put in more efforts in the fielding and bowl tight. But I am disappointed that our fielding department let us down. The focus on the next game would be to lift our fielding as well. Batting and bowling are two parts of the game where you can't guarantee (you will make runs or get wickets), but when it comes to fielding, you absolutely have to give your 200 hundred per cent. If we can improve our fielding, we'll be a good side. We need to work on our fielding,” she elaborated while analysing the loss.
Stafanie Taylor had opened the innings for West Indies and shaped the innings with a pacy yet well compiled knock. A hard-hitter of the ball she smacked 12 boundaries and three sixes. Discussing the knock and India’s plan for her, Harmanpreet said, “The plan in the powerplay was to bowl as many dot balls as we could because an opener will always come in with the intention to hit boundaries. We had spread the field a bit as we wanted to go bowl more dot balls and cut down on the boundaries but we couldn't do either. In the next game, we will have to see how we can cut down on the singles as well. Once you start getting singles, the batting looks quite easy. We wanted to cut on the boundaries but the fielders would give away easy singles in the process,” the skipper said while discussing her opposite number’s match-winning knock.
Reflecting on the bowling, she said, “Our bowlers were bowling a bit up. So, I told them that when you play the T20 format, you need to cut down the speed but this is the thing. Also, two-three bowlers were new, it was the first game (for one). They did a good job.”
After being 0-1 down, India will be facing a must-win game to level the series. Speaking about the way forward, she said, “We are seasoned players. We have batting and bowling experience. And it’s not like we can't field well either. There were a couple of them on debut today and few others were playing an international game after six months and that too against World T20 champions so I understand that the players feel some pressure but ideally these things shouldn't matter at international level as a professional player. I guess, it was an eye opener today. I hope we can do well in the fielding department as well in the next game,” in conclusion.
