Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 7 (ANI): After suffering a massive defeat in the first ODI against South Africa Women, India Women’s team’s vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur said her side’s batters failed to build good partnerships but asserted that players will learn from their mistakes.
South Africa Women defeated India Women by eight wickets in the first ODI on Sunday here at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. With this victory, the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.
“They bowled well. We gave our wickets away but we cannot give away wickets that easily. We will try to build partnerships in the next games because, in long format games, you need those partnerships,” Harmanpreet said during the virtual post-match press conference.
Harmanpreet also feels that lack of game time also played a bit of a role as players’ struggled to find the rhythm. The Indian women’s cricket team last played cricket during the Women’s T20 Challenge in November 2020 while their last international match was on March 8, 2020, when they faced Australia in the T20 World Cup final.
“We didn’t play that much cricket recently and apart from the Women’s T20 Challenge, we did not get much time where we could work as a unit. As a team, you need to spend some time on the field and get ready for any series. But we are a side that likes to learn from our mistakes. We will definitely learn from our mistakes and try to prove ourselves,” she said.
During the match, Laura Wolvaardt and Lizelle Lee formed a stunning 169-run partnership to help South Africa chase down the target of 178 runs. Giving an honest assessment of the team’s bowling performance, Harmanpreet said it was “not up to the mark.”
“In bowling as well, there was no partnership. I feel in the next game, we need to that. Our bowling was not up to the mark. We have very experienced bowlers and our spinners are very good, but it can happen when you are playing after a long time and sometimes, things may not go in your favour. But we will work on that,” Harmanpreet said.
The second ODI will be played on Tuesday. (ANI)
