NZW v INDW 2019: We were about 20 runs short in the second T20I, says Harmanpreet Kaur

The White Ferns secured the match on the last delivery and consequently took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the T20I series.

New Zealand Women won the second T20I by four wickets | Getty

Indian women’s team suffered a heart-wrenching four-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the second T20I at Eden Park on Friday (February 8).

Chasing 136, the White Ferns secured the match on the last delivery and consequently took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the T20I series.

Speaking after the match, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said: “We should give credit to our bowlers. It was not a decent total but still they fought really well."

“If you want to win any game, you should have a decent total on the board. We were 20 runs short. When you have a short total, we can’t expect the bowlers to bowl all good overs. The (New Zealand) batters have also come to play. They played good shots. New Zealand have played better cricket than us but there is still one more game, and we should learn from our mistakes,” she added.

Suzie Bates, who scored 62 off 52 balls to help New Zealand chase down the target, said that one of the senior batters needed to stick around and not allowed the game to go till the very end.

“We didn’t make it easy on ourselves taking it to the last over. One of our senior batters should have stuck in till the end. But it is good to see Hannah Rowe and Leigh Kasperek finish off in front of a big crowd," Bates said.

She also hailed the crowd for turning up in big numbers to support the team.

“They (crowd) cheered for the dot balls (laughs). Feels a bit like an away crowd with how loud the Indians get. We love it. The atmosphere in both games, we just thrive off it. It is so good see them to come out both teams."

New Zealand captain Amy Satterthwaite also echoed Bates’ opinion and praised the youngsters for holding their nerve in the end.

“We should have probably done (chased) that a lot easier that we did. Pleased that we got over the line in the end. It was a fantastic experience for some of our players like Leigh Kasperek and Hannah Rowe at the end."

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 08 Feb, 2019

    Share Via