After losing the three-match T20 series to Australia, India women captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Tuesday identified fielding as the area that needs immediate improvement. India took many catches in this series, which Australia won 2-1. The visiting team defeated India by seven wickets in the third game at the DY Patil Stadium.
“As a team we have learned a lot. “Fielding is something we were not good at and after this break, we will work on our fitness and fielding to come back stronger,” Harmanpreet said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Harmanpreet admitted after losing the only Test that Australia played much better than India in the white-ball format. “Last month we played very good cricket. They (Australia) played white ball cricket better than us. We know we can take our time in red-ball cricket but we need to be cautious in white-ball cricket as well.”
The Indian captain also said that his team can learn a lot from the tourists. “We always gave them a run for their money, we weren’t going to give them anything easy, that’s something I’m proud of our team for. There is a lot to learn from them (Australia) too.”
Australian captain and player of the series Alyssa Healy said that her opening wicket partnership with Beth Mooney was crucial in the chase.
Healy (55) and Mooney (52 not out) added 85 runs for the first wicket in just 10 overs to give their team a great start while chasing the target of 148 runs.
“Whenever you’re chasing that target, it’s important to get us off to good starts and get the run-rate down as quickly as possible,” Healy said.
Healy was also happy to see the efforts of his bowlers. “The bowlers have performed excellently throughout the series and the group is really proud. We got 9 bowling options, but our ability to rely only on those 5 (bowlers) in the last 5 matches is excellent.
Player of the match and fast bowler Annabel Sutherland described Australia’s victory as a complete effort. “It was good to get a complete performance from the group and finish with a series win.
“We reviewed the first game and we didn’t play the way we wanted to and we’re proud of the way the girls came back after that,” Sutherland said.
Opening batsman Mooney said the series win is a good launching pad ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. “We definitely have an eye on the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, and we are trying to get better and improve in some areas.”
